SEP  18  1930 


BX  9225  .H27  H27  1901 
Hall,  Thomas  Cuming,  1858- 

1936. 
John  Hall,  pastor  and 

pr^achiar 


John  Hall 

Pastor  and 
Preacher 


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a 


SEP  18  1930 


JOHN  HALL 

PASTOR 
AND 

PRBACHCR 
^^ 

///sS  SO// 
THOMAS  C.  HALL 


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FLEMING  H.  REVELL    COMPANY 
NEWYORK  .  CHrCAOO  •  TORONTO 


Copyright,   1901,  by 
FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY 

(November) 


TO  MY  MOTHER 

whose  eager  love  lightened 

at  every  step 

the  life  of  him  whom  these  pages 

would  fain  portray, 

and  from  whom  not  even  death  divides 

this  volume  is  affectionately  dedicated 

By  Her  Son. 


Preface 


IT  has  been  a  labor  of  filial  love  to  trace  the  life 
of  one  who  left  his  mark  for  good  upon 
thousands  of  hves.  The  born  preacher  foregoes 
a  measure  of  literary  fame  as  he  speaks  to  the 
immediate  needs  of  men,  not  in  the  forms  that 
might  make  him  acceptable  to  the  chosen  few, 
but  in  the  modes  understood  of  the  many.  My 
father  was  himself  averse  to  printing  his  sermons. 
He  has  left  but  few  in  such  a  form  that  they 
could  be  given  to  the  press,  and  those  would,  I 
fear,  misrepresent  him  to  those  who  never  heard 
his  voice  or  knew  the  charm  that  separates  the 
born  preacher  from  the  pulpit  speaker  or  even 
the  platform  orator.  He  gave  his  life  for  his 
generation.  He  sought  no  reputation  as  either  a 
theologian  or  man  of  letters.  Indeed  he  deliber- 
ately turned  away  from  work  great  gifts  fitted 
him  to  do,  for  that  which  he  deemed  more  im- 
portant; the  calling  of  men  to  life  eternal  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  The  purpose  of  these 
pages  is  to  prolong  a  little  the  savor  of  his  mem- 
7 


8  PREFACE 

ory;  to  interpret,  however  weakly,  the  sincerity 
and  singleness  of  aim  that  marked  the  man,  to  a 
generation  that  needs  inspiration  to  simplicity; 
to  remind  friends  of  what  we  all  have  lost,  and 
perhaps,  to  help  some  one  seeking  to  live  the 
life  of  sacrifice  and  devotion  how  to  make 
that  life  more  widely  useful.  The  filial  relation 
forbids  alike  eulogium  and  critique.  No  powers 
at  the  command  of  the  author  can  do  justice  to 
the  straightforward,  tender,  upright  manhood 
that  made  my  father  a  tower  of  strength  to  every 
cause  he  made  his  own,  and  a  sheltering  rock  to 
many  weaker  ones  battling  with  untoward  cir- 
cumstances. In  him  strength  and  gentleness 
mingled  in  an  indescribably  attractive  way.  He 
was  personally  unspoilt  by  success,  and  the  last 
tests  of  his  character  though  they  broke  his  heart, 
left  him  without  bitterness,  humbly  and  simply 
leaning  on  that  Father's  strength,  whose  way  is 
not  our  way,  but  whose  love  guarded  His  servant 
unto  the  end.  With  no  one  did  my  father  prob- 
ably speak  more  intimately  on  many  subjects 
connected  with  his  life  and  work  than  with  the 
writer.  The  loving  confidences  of  a  common 
calling  were  unbroken  to  the  end.  During  the 
weakness  and  ill-health  at  Buxton  (England) 
memory  naturally  with  him  went  back  to  early 


PREFACE  9 

days,  and  sitting  in  the  gardens  or  driving  out  on 
the  high  uplands  he  told  me  many  things  that 
will  always  remain  with  me  as  vivid  impressions 
of  his  hopes  and  aims.  His  life  was  no  complex 
problem  to  be  slowly  explained  amidst  doubts 
and  guesses  as  to  the  deeper  meaning.  His  aim 
was  as  direct  as  it  was  high.  He  felt  himself  to 
be  an  ambassador  for  Christ  beseeching  men  to 
be  reconciled  unto  God.  May  this  sketch  of  his 
life  and  work  prolong  for  a  little  the  tender 
memories  of  his  loving  plea. 

Thomas  C.  Hall,  D.  D. 

Professor  of  Ethics, 

Union  Theological  Setninary, 
New  York. 


Contents 


I 

BOYHOOD  DAYS 
The  Province  of  Ulster.— The  Family  Home.— Early  Train- 
ing— School  Life.— The  Old  Meeting-house Earliest 

Memories — Christian  Experiences        ...  |q 

II 

LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 
Early  Entrance  to  College.— The  Religious  Life  of  Belfast 
College. — Dr.  Cooke  and  Dr.  Edgar. — Undergraduate 
Days.— Special  Religious  Influences.— The  Evangeli- 
cal Influences.— His  Father's  Death. — The  Connaught 
Proposals 4, 

III 

THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 
Character  of  the  West. — The  Social  Conditions. — The 
Potato  Blight.— Dr.  Edgar's  Note  of  Alarm.— Sym- 
pathy in  Belfast. — The  Student  Missionary. — Pulpit 
Shyness. — Industrial  Schools. — The  Forms  of  Oppo- 
sition,— Newspaper  Work. — The  Call  to  Armagh     -      67 

IV 
THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 
Church  Life  in  Armagh. — Marriage. — Methods  as  a  Pastor. 
— Missionary  Work. — The  Missionary  Herald. — Family 


12  CONTENTS 

Concerns — Temperance  Agitation.— Revival  Experi- 
ences.—Politics  and  the  Crimean  War.— The  Needs  of 
Dublin  gc 

V 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  MARY'S  ABBEY — DUBLIN 

Mary's  Abbey. — Irish  Education. — National  Schools. — 
The  Queen's  Commissionership, — The  Rutland  Square 
Church — Vacations. — The  Evangelical  Witness. — Dis- 
establishment and  the  Moderatorship. — Delegate  to 
America        -  109 

VI 

FIRST  JOURNEY  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Continental  Travels. — First  Voyage  Across  the  Atlantic. — 
First  Impressions  of  New  York. — The  Old  and  Newr 
School  Assemblies. — Western  Experiences. — Fast  Trav- 
eling.—  Washington  and  Baltimore. —  The  Journey 
Home  146 

VII 

THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA  AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE 

Hints  of  a  Coming  Call. — An  Atlantic  Message. — The  Call 
to  America  Accepted. — Remonstrances. — Reasons  for 
Going. — Correspondence  with  America. — An  Irish  Esti- 
mate of  Service  Rendered  ....  |5q 

VIII 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH 

Arrival  in  New  York. — The  New  York  Home. — The  Fifth 
Avenue  Church's  History. — The  Reunion. — Ideals  of 
Education. — Ideals  in  Preaching. — Immediate  Success. 
— Methods. — Pastoral  Work  -         .         -         -         igi 


CONTENTS  13 

IX 

THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING  AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE 
New     York's     Changes. — The     New     Building. — Fellow- 
workers    in    the   Congregation. — Outside  Activities. 

Education.  —  Home      Missions.  —  Sunday-Schools. 

Powers  as  a  Debater. — Church  Extension  and  City- 
Missions. — Literary  Work  and  Ambitions. — Theology   217 

X 

HOME  LIFE  AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS 
Humor. — Freedom  in  Education. — Amusements. — The  Va- 
cation.— San   Francisco. — Illness. — Mother's  Death. 

Nephew's  Death. — The  House  of  Commons. — On 
Board  Ship. — Germany. — Attempted  Assassination. — 
The  Press. — Absurd  Reports        ....        247 

XI 

CONTROVERSY   AND   ATTEMPTED   PEACEMAKING 

Powers      of     Controversy. — Revision. — Misunderstandings 

Counsels  Rejected. — The  Case  of  Dr.  Briggs.— Union 
Seminary. — Attitude  towards  Extremists. — Conception  of 
Fundamentals. 27^ 

XII 

SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

Degrees  and  Honors. — Inter-denominational  Fellowship 

Church  Unity.— Family  Sorrows— The  Warszawiak 
Case.— The  Demanded  Resignation. — The  Congre- 
gational Protest.— The  Church  Reorganized        -        293 

XIII 

THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME 
The  Illness  in  New  York.— Ordered  to  Buxton. — Increasing 
Weakness. — The  Journey  to  Ireland. — Last  Visit  to  Rut- 


14  CONTENTS 

land  Square  Church. — The  Journey  Northward. — Home 
Longings. — The  Last  Hours         ...         -        ^27 

XIV 

THE  LAST  RITES 

The    Funeral   in   Ireland.— The   Remains  Taken  to   New 

York.— Services     in     New    York. — Tributes     to    the 

Memory.— The  Last  Resting-Place        '        -        •        -       337 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGES 

JOHN  HALL Title 

THE  HOME  IN  IRELAND 22 

THE  COLLEGE  CIRCLE 49 

MRS.  JOHN  HALL 88 

DR.  JOHN  HALL  AT  THE  AGE  OF  THIRTY  122 

DR.  JOHN  HALL  AT  THE  AGE  OF  THIRTY-EIGHT  148 

CABLE— CALL  TO  AMERICA              ...  171 

DR.  JOHN  HALL'S  MOTHER          ....  260 


LIFE 

The  "Roscommon  and  Leitrim   Gazette"  iiih  December,  i8jo. 

Nay,  Life  is  not  the  thing  thou  makest  it !  'tis  not 

To  work  and  rest,  to  eat  and  sleep,  and  say — 'tis  well. 

'Tis  not  to  breathe  the  air  of  each  new  day,  and  tread 

Its  round  as  does  the  sentinel,  and  boast  at  night 

That  thou  hast  done  thy  work — it  is  not  insect-like 

To  flit  from  flower  to  flower — and  sip  what  thou  hast  named 

A  new  delight :  but  which  the  wise  fear  not  to  call 

But  perfumed  poisons — it  is  not  to  kill  the  time. 

As  though  time  were  thy  mortal  enemy — 'tis  not 

To  hold  up  to  thy  lips  the  maddening  cup,  of  which 

The  fire  distilled  hath,  worse  than  lightning — blighted  souls, 

And  been  the  prelude  sad  to  fires  eternal ! 

'Tis  not,  where  graceful  forms  obey  the  impulses 

Of  sweet  and  joyous  melody,  and  revel  in 

The  mazes  of  the  dance,  like  her,  who  took  the  fee 

For  her  performance,  in  the  faithful  Baptist's  blood  ! 

This  is  not  Life,  and  if  thou  deem'st  it  is — alas ! 

Eternity  will  sadly  undeceive  thy  soul. 

And  Death  will  prove  thy  thought  supremely  mad ! 

Oh  !  did'st  thou  know  how  minds,  once  like  thine  own,  regard 

Thy  trifling,  thou  would'st  surely  ask  thyself  at  times 

"  How  seem  I  in  the  holy  eye  of  Him  who  gave 

This  life,  and  bade  me  serve  Him  ever  ?  " 

'Tis  not  life ! 
'Tis  dancing  on  the  scaffold — singing  songs  of  joy. 
When  justice  saith  of  thee  thou  art  "  condemned  already." 

No  it  is  life,  to  serve  the  Maker  of  our  soul. 
To  feel  His  power,  admit  His  justice,  and  escape 
17 


i8  LIFE 

His  wrath  deserved  by  shelter ittg  beneath  the  tree 

Blood-sprinkled,  where,  and  only,  where  is  life  eternal — 

To  be  filled  with  holiest  aspirations  that  take  hold 

Of  things  in  heaven, — to  hope  and  fear,  and  act 

As  children  of  a  King.     It  is  to  consecrate 

The  passing  hour,  and  to  the  high  behests  of  heaven 

To  yield  unfeigned  submission — when  the  soul, 

Unchained,  from  earth's  severest  toils  can  look  away 

With  eye  unkindled,  upon  crowns,  and  harps,  and  thrones, 

And  say  in  humble  faith,  "  these  are  for  me — the  blood 

Of  Him  I  love  hath  bought  them,  and  His  grace  hath  made 

Them  mine  irrevocably."     This  is  joyous  life  ! 

The  dawning  of  a  deathless  day — the  vestibule 

Of  Heaven's  own  glorious  temple — and  who  liveth  thus, 

Shall  tread  its  courts  forever. 

Then,  although  our  life 
Be  "but  a  vapor,"  it  is  such  an  one  as  shall 
Soar  high  in  sunlight,  leave  its  grosser  part  awhile 
On  earth,  and  be  absorbed  into  the  holy  heaven. 


I.     BOYHOOD  DAYS 


TO  AN  INFANT 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN  BY  SIR  WILLIAM  JONES 

When  thou  wast  born,  a  naked  helpless  child, 

Thou  only  wept  while  all  around  thee  smiled. 

So  live,  that  sinking  in  thy  last  long  sleep. 

Calm  thou  may'st  smile,  when  all  around  thee  weep. 


BOYHOOD   DAYS 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  ULSTER.  THE  FAMILY  HOME.  EARLY 
TRAINING.  SCHOOL  LIFE.  THE  OLD  MEETING-HOUSE.  EAR- 
LIEST MEMORIES.     CHRISTIAN  EXPERIENCE. 

THE  Province  of  Ulster  lacks  some  of  the 
picturesque  features  that  mark  the  southern 
and  western  parts  of  Ireland,  nor  is  its  soil  the 
most  fertile,  yet  a  sturdy  race  has  made  it  by  far 
the  most  prosperous  and  contented  portion  of 
the  Island.  This  northern  section  of  the  country 
was  settled  by  Scotch  and  north  of  England 
Protestants  to  whom  King  James  gave  the  land 
thus  hoping  to  secure  loyal  support  against  the 
turbulent  Roman  Catholic  opposition.  ^  Among 
the  Scotch  settlers  there  went  some  of  the  family 
of  Hall.  The  Scotch  home  is  said  to  be  still  in 
the  hands  of  the  older  branch  of  the  family. 

All  the  descendants  remained  true  to  the  old 
Scotch  traditions,  and  the  environment  in  which 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  grew  up  was  thus 
stoutly  Protestant  and  Presbyterian.  He  was  the 
eldest  son  of  William  Hall  and  Rachel  McGowan. 
For  six  generations  the  family  had  maintained 

^  Cf.  Prendergast's  "  Irish  Settlement." 


22  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

possession  of  Ballygorman,  County  Armagh, 
where  my  father  was  born  on  the  31st  of  July, 
1829.  He  was  baptized  in  the  same  year  on 
October  13th,  by  his  mother's  cousin  the  Rev. 
William  McGowan.  There  came  eight  ^  other 
children,  all  save  three  still  living.  Two  little 
girls  died  in  childhood,  and  one  brother  Robert 
Gillis,  only  survived  his  brother  by  about  a  year 
and  a  half.  The  three  sisters  still  remain  in  the 
home  country,  but  all  the  brothers  either  preceded 
or  followed  their  eldest  brother  to  America. 

It  is  not  difficult  for  any  one,  at  all  familiar  with 
the  north  of  Ireland  to  form  some  picture  of  the 
simple  home  in  which  the  family  grew  up.  The 
little  cottage  still  stands  in  the  midst  of  the 
fields.  A  narrow  lane  bordered  by  thorn  hedges 
leads  up  to  the  doorway.  The  softly  rolling 
country  is  dotted  by  hundreds  of  other  cottages 
not  much  varied  in  size  and  appearance.  All 
neatly  whitewashed,  and  now  rather  stiffly 
proud  of  slate  roofs;  these  being  an  innovation. 
Part  of  the  beauty  of  the  countryside  in  the 
early  days  were  the  thatched  roofs  under  which 
the  birds  built  their  nests,  and  twittered  a  noisy 
welcome   to   the   early   risers.     Under   a  thatch 

1  Robert  G.,  Hannah,  Elizabeth,  Sarah  Jane,  James,  Mary, 
Mary  Hall,  Samuel  M. 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  23 

roof  William  Hall  brought  up  his  family.  He 
was  a  man  of  high  standing  and  wide  influence 
in  his  community.  He  was  an  elder  in  the 
Church,  and  with  him  the  position  was  one  of 
solemn  responsibility.  He  seems  also  to  have 
been  a  much  sought  counsellor  in  the  affairs  of 
the  community  and  to  have  enjoyed  a  wide 
acquaintance  and  high  respect. 

Wealth  he  did  not  have.  A  large  family  and 
impaired  health  shadowed  his  later  days  with 
natural  anxieties.  Moreover  the  defalcation  of  a 
fellow  trustee  for  a  ward  placed  in  their  joint 
charge  by  the  courts  greatly  harassed  him. 
William  Hall  at  once  assumed  the  full  responsi- 
bility of  making  good  the  loss.  This  sum  was  a 
large  one  for  those  days  and  circumstances;  and 
although  he  carried  out  his  resolution  with  un- 
swerving fidelity  the  effort  must  have  contrib- 
uted, his  children  always  thought,  to  the  shorten- 
ing of  his  days.  It  was  his  ambition  to  give  all 
his  boys  the  education  so  eagerly  coveted  alike  in 
the  north  of  Ireland  as  in  Scotland  by  Protestant 
parents  for  their  sons.  Very  early,  therefore,  the 
eldest  boy  was  started  on  the  highroad  of  learn- 
ing at  the  little  neighborhood  school  kept  by  a  Mr. 
Wm.  Whitten  at  Lough  gilly.  My  father  has  left 
the  following  little  sketch  of  that  early  day: 


24  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

"Probably  a  village  school  in  Ulster,  Ireland's 
most  prosperous  province,  v^ould  be  less  impress- 
ive to  the  adult  mind  than  is  a  well-ordered 
Ward  school  in  New  York;  but  to  the  present 
writer,  at  the  age  of  five,  or  a  little  more,  nothing 
earthly  could  possibly  be  more  solemn  than  the 
country  school,  the  day  he  was  introduced.  He 
remembers  the  appalling  hum  as  he  approached, 
the  awful  introduction  to  "the  master,"  the 
masked  battery  of  strange  and  scrutinizing  eyes, 
and  the  agony  of  suspense  in  which  he  sat  and 
watched  the  retreating  friendly  form  that  had 
sheltered  him  till  then,  wondering  what  would 
now  be  done  to  him!  With  some  such  feelings, 
possibly,  the  Androcles  whose  acquaintance  was 
made  afterwards,  awaited  the  approach  of  the  lion. 

"And  the  lion  became  quite  tame  and  like  An- 
drocles, even  kind.  This  teacher  had  only  a 
parish  school,  one  of  that  sort  of  which  it  v/as 
playfully  said  that  the  pupils  mainly  learned  the 
catechism,  and  to  take  off  their  hats  to  the  squire. 
But  this  man  was  a  true  teacher,  and  a  gentleman 
— he  is  now  a  good  clergyman  in  Canada — and 
if  for  no  other  reason,  the  present  writer,  in 
memory  of  him,  will  revere  the  calling  of  the 
teacher,  and  claim  respect  for  the  class  as  long  as 
he  lives," 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  25 

The  more  modern  methods  of  learning  without 
work  were  not  then  in  vogue.  The  early  drill, 
however,  insured  fair  spelling  and  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  English  grammar.  The  much- 
thumbed  spelling-book  still  exists,  which  was 
learned  by  heart  from  end  to  end,  definitions  and 
all.  When  that  had  been  exhausted  a  short 
dictionary  took  its  place,  and  was  similarly  mas- 
tered. At  a  very  early  age  the  handwriting  of 
little  John  was  formed,  and  by  its  regularity  and 
beauty  became  the  pride  of  a  large  family  circle. 
So  much  indeed  was  this  the  case,  that  in  the 
evening  the  younger  children  of  the  family  and 
the  neighbors  round  about  were  gathered  in  the 
kitchen  of  the  farmhouse,  and  this,  as  the 
largest  room  obtainable,  was  made  into  a  night- 
schoolroom  with  the  eldest  boy  as  teacher  under 
the  general  superintendence  of  the  parents. 

Any  true  picture  of  the  family  life  of  those 
days  would  imply  almost  poverty  to  those  ac- 
customed to  greater  luxury.  The  daily  fare  was 
of  the  simplest  character.  The  products  of  the 
farm  being  almost  wholly  relied  upon  to  supply 
the  table.  Fresh  meat  was  not  freely  eaten.  In 
the  evening  those  who  had  worked  in  the  fields 
gathered  about  the  turf  fire  in  the  kitchen 
and  over  it  hung  a  huge  pot  of  oatmeal  boiled 


26  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

with  the  buttermilk  from -the  dairy.  This  with 
oat-cakes  formed  the  principal  food  of  the  whole 
countryside.  Money  was  very  scarce.  The 
farm  methods  were  exceedingly  primitive,  and 
the  lack  of  coal  and  capital  made  any  changes 
difficult  and  often  unprofitable.  Even  the  cloth- 
ing was  largely  home-made  and  constructed  with 
a  view  rather  to  endurance  than  to  fashion.  Yet 
for  all  this,  enforced  simplicity  was  not  felt  as 
poverty.  Nowhere  in  the  world  can  there  be 
found  to  this  day,  a  prouder  independence  than 
among  the  self-sustaining  Ulster  farmers. 

When  it  became  apparent  that  the  capacity  of 
the  oldest  son  easily  warranted  the  ambition  of  a 
college  education,  William  Hall  took  up  bravely 
the  burden  of  making  due  preparation  for  this 
step.  Mr.  Whitten  left  soon  for  other  parts,  and 
his  successor  then  confessed  not  long  after  that 
he  could  do  no  more  for  the  boy.  Some  three 
miles  from  Ballygorman  a  man  of  good  parts  had 
established  a  classical  school.  The  father  at  first 
took  lodgings  for  his  son  near  the  school,  but 
this  plan  was  found  to  be  inconvenient;  then  the 
boy,  already  tall  for  his  age,  walked  with  his 
school-books  flung  over  his  shoulder  in  a  green 
bag.  The  walk  was,  however,  too  much  for  the 
growing  lad,  arid  the  father  bought  him  a  pony. 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  27 

To  the  end  of  his  days  he  carried  the  scar  caused 
by  the  pony  throwing  him  against  a  mile-stone 
on  the  roadside. 

The  classical  drill  was  narrow  in  range,  but 
sound  and  thorough.  The  Latin  of  those  days 
was  never  forgotten.  And  all  through  my 
father's  life  he  had  the  habit  of  writing  little  ex- 
clamatory prayers  in  the  Latin  tongue  in  his  note- 
books or  at  the  close  of  sermons  and  addresses. 
The  growing  mind  of  a  rather  sober  boy  was 
now  stimulated  by  the  sense  of  increasing  re- 
sponsibility. For  the  health  of  the  father  began 
now  to  fail  steadily.  Towards  eventide  the 
parent  would  take  his  eldest  son  by  the  hand, 
and  with  him  would  go  out  to  the  little  orchard 
behind  the  cottage,  and  there  overlooking  the 
"far  land"  in  the  glow  of  the  closing  day,  he 
would  commune  with  God;  and  he  himself  pre- 
maturely bent  with  hard  toil,  anxiety  and 
care,  would  impress  on  the  boy's  mind  lessons 
he  never  forgot  of  fidelity  to  duty,  obedience  to 
God,  dependence  upon  prayer,  and  of  faithful- 
ness in  all  undertaken  tasks.  Even  then  the 
boy's  mind  was  filled  with  awe  and  hope  at  the 
prospect  of  undertaking  the  public  ministry  of 
God's  word.  When  the  minister  came,  as  was 
the  wholesome  custom,  and  gathered  about  him 


28  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

all  the  children  to  question  and  instruct  them  in 
religious  matters,  the  eldest  boy  was  always 
foremost  in  the  accuracy  of  the  answering.  Each 
Sabbath  the  family  made  the  way  "across  the 
bogs  "  if  fine,  along  the  roadway  in  wet  or  win- 
ter weather  to  the  "meeting-house."  Of  this 
my  father  has  left  a  description.' 

"High  trees  shade  the  place.  Decent  grave- 
stones, neat  walks,  beech  hedges,  and  a  high, 
strong  wall  dividing  all  from  the  main  street — 
the  one  street  of  the  village — give  the  place  the 
air  of  a  venerable  and  honored  institution  where 
the  living  worship,  and  where  the  dead  repose. 
In  the  centre  of  the  inclosure,  along  one  side  of 
which  flows  a  rivulet  through  what  was  once  a 
glen,  rises  the  main  building,  solid  in  structure  if 
not  artistic  in  shape,  and  approached  by  a  fitting 
gate,  stone  stairs  and  wide  and  sanded  avenue, 
with  the  graves  of  the  people  right  and  left  of  it. 
You  may  walk  straight  up  the  aisle,  with  the 
pulpit  on  your  left  and  out  at  the  corresponding 
door,  when  another  wide  walk,  similarly  sur- 
rounded, takes  you  to  the  '  retiring-room.*  Close 
by  this  retiring-room  are  the  tombs  of  the  minis- 
ters who  lived  and  died  among  the  people,  and 

1  In  the  New  York  Ledger,  the  owners  of  which  have  given 
generous  permission  to  reprint  any  material  found  useful. 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  29 

over  whose  graves  substantial  monuments,  with 
fitting  inscriptions,  invite  the  attention  and  ven- 
eration of  all  comers,  and  are  read  and  re-read  in 
the  warm  summer  days,  when  the  people  are 
'waiting  for  the  minister  to  go  in.'  Where 
'  fifty  years  of  faithful  service '  are  credited  to  a 
pastor  whose  remains  sleep  there — wife  and 
several  children  beside  him— it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  if  the  name  is  repeated  with  tenderness, 
and  held  in  veneration. 

"It  is  more  than  fifty  years  since  the  present 
writer  was  taken  as  a  child  to  that  *  meeting- 
house.' The  minister  was,  to  him,  old,  for  a 
child  counts  any  one  old  whose  hair  is  turning 
gray,  but  he  was  remarkably  kindly;  and  the 
kindness  was  all  the  more  touching  from  the 
gravity  of  his  bearing,  and  the  dignity  of  his 
walk.  I  am  not  sure  that  all  that  he  preached 
was  understood,  but  it  was  all  so  solemn,  tender, 
and  suggestive  of  Deity  and  eternity,  and  the  at- 
tention of  the  people  was  so  reverent,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  be  inattentive.  Much  is  said  now- 
adays about  making  the  churches  attractive  to 
the  young,  and  the  effort  often  leads  in  the  direc- 
tion of  competition  with  popular  institutions  that 
thrive  by  the  number  of  tickets  they  can  sell. 
The  writer  may  be  mistaken,  but  all  his  recollec- 


30  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

tions  would  indicate  that  to  make  the  church  and 
its  service  solemn,  tender,  true  to  the  facts  of 
life,  real,  sincere,  and  not  a  show  of  things  not 
rendered  real  to  the  young  mind,  is  the  best  way 
to  make  it  revered  and  beloved  by  those  who 
have  not  yet  been  demoralized  by  '  spectacles ' 
and  palpable  insincerities. 

"Fifty  years  ago  the  floors  were  earthen,  ex- 
cept the  great  double  pews  at  each  end,  which 
were  ascended  by  a  couple  of  steps,  of  course 
with  a  boarded  floor  and  a  wooden  cover,  like 
the  venerable  four-poster  beds  of  the  past  genera- 
tion. In  one  of  these  it  was  the  writer's  privilege 
to  sit  and,  while  singing  was  going  on,  to  gaze 
with  admiration  at  the  huge  beams  stretched 
from  wall  to  wall,  and  on  which  rested  the  '  up- 
rights'  that  held  up  the  roof,  for  ceiling  the 
building  had  none.  On  the  angle  made  by  the 
walls  of  two  converging  aisles  stood  the  pulpit, 
high,  narrow,  with  a  roof  over  it  with  no  visible 
support,  and  below  it,  a  smaller  one  for  the  pre- 
centor, whose  duty  it  was  to  give  out  each  line 
of  the  psalm,  sing  it,  or  rather  lead  in  the  singing 
of  it,  and  then  give  the  next,  and  so  on.  These 
arrangements  can  be  so  described  as  to  provoke 
a  smile,  but  they  were  on  the  line  of  the  life  of 
the  people;  they  were  of  a  piece  with  the  ways 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  31 

of  other  churches,  and  they  were  not  incompat- 
ible with  solemnity  any  more  than  with  decency. 
I  can  well  remember  the  Communion  Sabbath — 
the  long  tables,  covered  with  the  white  linen, 
stretching  all  the  length  of  the  aisles,  and  the 
people,  psalm-books  in  hand,  slowly  and  with 
the  most  devout  bearing,  moving  out  of  their 
pews  to  their  places,  singing  as  they  went: 

<  I'll  of  salvation  take  the  cup, 
On  God's  name  will  I  call; 
I'll  pay  my  vows  now  to  the  Lord 
Before  His  people  all.' 

I  have  seen  stately  processions  in  historic  cathe- 
drals, and  still  more  moving  spectacles  of  thou- 
sands starting  to  their  feet  under  one  impulse, 
but  never  anything  more  like  reverent  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  Divine  than  then  appeared  in 
the  old  meeting-house." 

Thus  he  grew  up  a  tall  thin  lad,  not  then  pos- 
sessing the  muscular  vigor  he  afterwards  de- 
veloped, but  with  good  health,  and  an  envied 
reputation  among  his  playmates  for  good  temper, 
and  although  not  strong  yet  quick  and  agile. 
Indeed  at  jumping  he  was  long  preeminent  both 
at  school  and  later  at  Belfast. 

Narrow  means  lose  much  of  their  terror  when 
they  are  not  contrasted  with  luxury,  and  do  not 


32  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

place  us  in  the  power  of  others.  The  struggle 
with  nature  was  hard  for  all  alike.  Manly  inde- 
pendence was  possible  even  to  the  poor.  Thrift 
and  daily  toil  entailed  neither  personal  degrada- 
tion nor  loss  of  social  standing.  Work  was  the 
normal  occupation  of  all.  Even  as  a  young  boy 
my  father  had  helped  to  earn  his  school  fees  by 
giving  lessons  to  those  less  advanced.  When, 
therefore,  it  was  decided  that  he  should  go  to  Bel- 
fast and  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry,  he  looked 
forward,  as  did  practically  all  his  fellow-students, 
to  helping  himself  through  the  course  by  teach- 
ing, prize-taking,  and  in  other  legitimate  ways. 
There  was  a  growing  family  to  consider,  and 
little  sisters  and  brothers  made  the  utmost  econ- 
omy necessary. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  home  was  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  word  religious.  At  the  same  time 
intellectual  influences  were  not  lacking.  William 
Hall,  my  grandfather,  must  have  been  a  man  of 
considerable  intellectual  force.  Even  while 
walking  with  the  plough  he  would  tell  his  boy 
stories  from  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics  which 
he  had  gathered  from  well-used  translations,  and 
early  he  instilled  into  his  son's  mind  a  love  for 
good  English  verse.  Years  afterwards  my  father 
could  repeat  poems  he  had  so  learned,  and  he 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  33 

never  quite  gave  up  the  practice  of  from  time  to 
time  learning  verse.  The  simple  easy  rhythm  of 
his  pulpit  style  was,  no  doubt,  in  good  part  a 
product  of  this  training. 

When  John  Hall  went  away  to  complete  his 
education  he  carried  with  him,  as  he  did  through 
all  his  life  the  savor  and  fragrance  of  pious  love. 

There  were  in  those  days  in  Ireland  no  com- 
mittees to  grant  money  to  any  boy  who  induced 
his  presbytery  to  give  him  a  good  character  and 
who  wanted  to  study  at  the  expense  of  the 
church  at  large.  There  were,  however,  prizes 
and  places  that  scholarship  gave  a  claim  upon. 
And  although  very  young  and  by  no  means 
strong  all  the  teachers  were  agreed  that  William 
Hall's  eldest  son  should  certainly  go  to  Belfast 
and  prepare  for  the  ministry.  The  last  penny  of 
the  sum  spent  by  the  unfaithful  trustee  had  at 
length  been  paid,  and  the  prospects  of  the  family 
looked  brighter.  The  classical  school  had  been 
pretty  well  exhausted  by  the  diligence  of  the 
pupil  and  so  at  a  very  early  age  it  seemed  best  to 
send  the  youth  to  Belfast. 

It  was  a  simple  boyhood,  filled  with  work,  and 
with,  perhaps,  a  minimum  of  play.  Yet  withal 
that  childhood  was  always  looked  back  to  with 
tender  memories  of  its  joys,  and  a  deep  and  rev- 


34  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

erent  love  for  all  the  simple  associations,  and 
gentle  influences  of  the  home.  Of  that  child- 
hood my  father  published  himself  some  mem- 
ories in  the  Evangelical  Witness  under  the 
date  1861.  He  was  at  that  time  himself  the 
editor,  so  the  impressions  were  not  signed  by 
him,  but  given  under  the  heading  "1  remember," 
by  "An  Old  Boy."  Some  extracts  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  I  remember  the  first  conscious  impression  I 
had  of  beauty,  I  think  it  almost  as  distinct  a 
recollection  as  I  have.  It  was  a  summer  after- 
noon: we  lived  in  the  country,  and  in  a  house  of 
no  particular  pretensions.  It  had  trees  about  it, 
many  of  them  sycamores,  in  which  the  wild  bees 
were  keeping  up  a  pleasant  hum.  My  brother — 
he  was  younger  than  I — and  myself  were  playing 
in  front  of  the  house,  when  my  mother  raised 
the  window,  and  calling  us,  handed  each  some 
bread  and  honey,  with  some  kindly  word — I  for- 
get what.  I  think  our  pleasure  pleased  her,  for 
her  face  beamed  as  it  had  never  beamed  to  me 
before,  and  for  the  first  time  I  was  distinctly 
conscious  that  my  mother  was  beautiful!  It  had 
a  great  effect  on  me.  My  mother  was  always 
good  to  me,  and  I  revered  her,  but  now  I  had  a 
new  feeling  towards  her.     She  was  like  an  angel 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  35 

to  me  now.  Ah,  mother!  long  years  have  gone 
since  then.  On  that  face,  there  has  been  many  a 
tear,  tears  over  the  little  dead  bodies,  tears  over 
their  father's  coffin,  tears,  no  doubt,  over  me, 
and  that  face  is  changed  to  all  others.  I  keep  in 
my  heart  the  photograph  that  was  taken  of  it 
that  summer  afternoon,  long,  long  ago,  and  I 
think,  like  that  will  be  my  mother's  face  to  me 
in  heaven. 

"I  remember  the  first  real  cry  1  ever,  with  my 
heart,  sent  up  to  God.  Do  not  tell  me  that  chil- 
dren have  no  troubles.  Do  not  think  because  the 
tears  soon  give  place  to  laughter  they  did  not  come 
from  sorrow.  I  had  early  troubles,  for  there 
were  tyrants — cruel  and  wanton  tyrants  of  eight, 
nine  and  ten  years  of  age,  at  school  with  me. 
The  teacher  closed  it  with  prayer — a  good  cus- 
tom,—and  I  prayed.  Prayers  wrung  from  us  by 
fear,  I  know,  are  not  the  best,  but  they  are  better 
than  none,  and  I  prayed  them.  My  childish  heart 
did  actually  ask  God  to  save  me  from  my  tor- 
mentors. Oh,  boys  and  girls!  do  not  make  any 
child's  life  bitter  at  school.  He  may  cry  to  God 
against  you,  and  God  may  hear  and  avenge  him. 
****** 

"I  remember  the  first  deep  remorse  1  ever  had. 
It  was  a  dreary  winter  day,  and  I  do  not  remem- 


36  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

ber  how  it  came  about,  but  a  poor  wretched  dog 
came  into  our  hands,  and  1  and  another  boy  made 
sorry  sport  for  ourselves  by  throwing  the  creature 
into  the  water,  pelting  it  with  stones,  and  when 
it  sweltered  to  the  bank,  pushing  it  in  again.  In 
one  of  its  attempts  to  get  out,  I  bent  down  to 
hurl  it  back,  when  the  creature  turned  its  eye  on 
me  with  such  a  look  of  entreaty  and  reproach — 
such  an  appealing,  deprecating  look!  It  went  to 
my  heart.  I  could  not  touch  it  again.  I  won- 
dered how  my  playmate  could.  I  saved  it  from 
his  hands,  but  I  was  too  much  of  a  coward  to 
tell  him  why.  Oh,  I  shall  never  forget  that  look 
from  the  dumb,  helpless,  suffering  animal.  It  may 
seem  profane  to  say  it  here,  but  I  know  the  force 
of  'Jesus  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter.'  Many 
a  time  1  have  felt  remorse  since  then,  but  1  doubt 
if  ever  it  was  more  poignant  than  under  the  eye 
of  that  poor  dog. 

"  I  remember  the  first  falsehood.  My  father  had 
taken  pains  to  teach  me  a  lesson  one  evening,  and 
he  inquired  particularly  the  next,  was  i  not  best 
in  my  class  ?  It  was  too  much  for  me.  I  said 
yes,  and  felt  degraded  and  condemned.  Uncon- 
sciously he  tempted  me,  but  I  should  not  have 
given  way.  And  now  I  am  older,  I  doubt  if 
parents  are  wise  when  they  inquire  too  minutely 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  37 

about  the  sayings  and  doings  of  their  young  ones, 
from  themselves.  Our  school,  I  am  sure,  was 
not  a  wonderful  school  in  any  way.  You  might 
see  the  boys  and  girls  on  a  November  morning, 
when  the  hoarfrost  whitened  the  crisp  grass, 
tripping  along  with  little  red  hands,  and  shining 
faces,  with  a  book  or  two  under  one  arm  and  *  a 
turf  (of  peat)  under  the  other,  which,  on  enter- 
ing the  school,  was  added  to  the  heap  that 
warmed  the  house  for  the  day.  And  yet,  simple 
and  primitive  as  it  was,  we  had  the  usual  vari- 
ety of  character,  and  1  think,  speaking  generally, 
those  whom  I  know  now,  are  very  much  in  ma- 
turity, what  they  were  beginning  to  be  as  chil- 
dren. 

"I  remember  the  first  lively  impression  I  had  of 
natural  beauty.  I  had  gone  to  another  school, 
from  which  I  was  returning  through  the  field.  It 
was  the  end  of  March,  and  a  sunny  afternoon. 
Descending  a  gentle  incHne  towards  a  little 
stream,  I  stepped  on  the  mound  that  rose  above 
it  on  one  side,  to  jump  over  it  to  the  lower  bank 
on  the  other.  I  paused  before  leaping.  The 
water  was  clear,  showing  the  smooth  pebbles 
underneath  it,  and  the  sunbeams  glinting  off  them 
through  the  little  eddies.  The  wild  plants  on  the 
margin  were  coming  out,  and  the  moss  and  water 


38  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

herbage  had  a  cheerful  tint  of  green,  and  all  was 
so  calm,  so  clear,  so  harmonious,  so  suggestive 
of — not  thoughts  but  feelings — pleasant  yet  some- 
how pensive — as  to  seem  almost  intelligent.  It 
was  long  before  I  made  my  leap,  and  went  on 
my  way.  1  have  seen  many  things  since, — 
mountain,  glen  and  flood,  but  did  I  ever  taste  a 
purer  joy  from  these  than  when  I  discovered  that 
new  delight  ? 

****** 

"  I  remember  the  first  death  I  saw.  When  I  was 
leaving  home  one  morning  for  school,  mother's 
face  was  more  than  commonly  pale.  She  had 
been  up  all  night,  and  on  her  knee  lay  the  cause 
of  her  wakefulness.  Poor  baby  was  ill — she 
feared,  dying.  Her  little  bosom  heaved — even  I 
could  see — too  much,  and  her  little  placid  face 
had  a  look  of  languor  as  she  lay  with  the  head 
thrown  back  on  her  mother's  arms.  Mother 
made  me  kiss  the  baby  particularly; — her  heart,  I 
knew,  would  fain  have  kept  me  at  home,  but 
what  could  I  do  ?  I  went  to  school.  When  I 
came  home  the  house  was  more  than  usually  still, 
without  and  within.  There  was  a  hushed  solem- 
nity over  all,  and  I  saw  the  little  baby  face,  the 
stillness  of  death  on  it,  and  the  little  curls  drawn 
out  from  the  small  white  cap,  and  falling  on  the 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  39 

baby  brow,  and  mother  sat  looking  at  the  closed 
eyes,  and  hair,  and  little  fingers,  oh,  with  what 
a  terrible,  still  grief!  That  was  the /irst  death 
that  came  near  me,  and  I  had  far  more  thought 
about  it  than  children  are  supposed  to  have.  1 
used  to  stand  with  my  mother,  when  we  went  to 
'  meeting  '—we  went  a  little  earlier  often  than 
the  people— by  the  little  grassy  grave  where  baby 
lay,  and  I  knew  my  mother  was  thinking  of  her 
little  one,  '  now '  she  said,  *  like  an  angel  in 
heaven.'  I  know  now  what  mother  then  felt. 
****** 

"I  remember  when  I  first  went  to  Sabbath- 
school.  It  was  a  union  school,  the  curate  and  the 
country  being  joined  in  its  management,  and  where 
little,  stout  red-leather  Psalm-books,  with  clasps, 
were  coveted  prizes  among  the  children,  before 
they  were  big  enough  to  earn  Bibles.  When  they 
did  earn  them  by  giving  in  ever  so  many  tickets, 
each  representing  a  Sunday  at  school,  and  so  many 
verses  learned  '  by  heart '  what  honest  pride  they 
felt!  You  might  see  the  happy  little  maiden 
with  her  Bible  in  the  folded  pocket  handkerchief, 
with  a  sprig  of  '  sither-wood ' — that  fragrant  (?) 
plant  which  the  Scottish  settlers  brought  with 
them — or  mayhap  a  full-blown  rose  gracing  the 
exposed    top    of    the    precious    book,    blithely 


i 


40  BOYHOOD  DAYS 

tripping  to  'meeting'  with  father  or  mother. 
Ah,  me!  these  simple  luxuries  are  giving  place 
to  French  gold  and  fashionable  'gauntlets,' 
but  we  do  not  complain.  The  world  moves, 
and  we  believe  Ulster  has  never  had  as  many 
Bible-loving  maidens  as  at  this  moment.  By 
such  as  these,  one  of  them  is  in  heaven  now, 
I  think,— I  was  conducted  to  the  Sabbath- 
school.  There  was  much  learning  of  texts, 
and  exercise  of  the  memory.  There  was  little 
exercise  of  the  judgment  and  no  appeal  to 
the  heart.  The  school  did  good,  for  it  formed 
good  habits,  familiarized  the  mind  with  the  words 
of  the  Scriptures;  but  it  did  far  less  good  than 
it  might,  had  there  been  teachers  fit  to  teach. 

"I  remember  reading  seven  chapters  of  Deu- 
teronomy in  a  morning  in  that  school.  On — on 
— on  we  went  without  note  or  comment.  Now 
that  I  am  older  I  see  the  need  of  training  teachers 
if  we  are  to  get  good  from  our  Sunday-schools, 
and  I  am  thankful,  and  I  hope  so  are  my  readers, 
that  we  have  so  many  to  teach,  speaking  what 
they  know,  and  inviting  to  a  Saviour  whom  they 
have  found  themselves." 

The  influences  of  that  Christian  home  were 
always  emphasized  by  my  father.  He  felt  that 
such  surroundings  made  a  vast  difference  in  judg- 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  41 

ing  of  a  life.  He  went  himself  naturally  into  all 
the  full  duties  of  the  Christian  profession,  having 
been  baptized  into  the  Church  as  a  child.  In  re- 
ply to  an  inquisitive  editor,  he  once  wrote: 

"  In  reply  to  your  inquiries  I  have  to  say,  with 
profound  gratitude  to  God,  that  1  was  brought 
up  in  the  closest  connection  with  the  church, 
learned  the  '  Shorter  Catechism '  in  my  home, 
attended  Sabbath-school,  and,  I  think,  believed 
in  the  Saviour  for  years  before  becoming  a  com- 
municant. This  step  I  was  permitted  to  take  at 
the  age  of  fourteen,  after  passing  through  the 
communicants'  class  of  a  faithful  pastor." 

In  this  home  the  vacations  away  from  college 
were  always  spent.  And  to  the  school  whence 
he  had  gone  to  college  he  returned  to  assist  dur- 
ing his  leisure  time.  He  also  aided  his  father  on 
the  farm  as  much  as  he  was  able  to,  and  while  at 
home  made  himself  useful  by  teaching  the 
younger  children.  His  sisters  say  they  remember 
the  delight  with  which  he  was  always  welcomed 
back  from  Belfast,  and  to  him  they  always  looked 
almost  more  as  a  father  than  a  brother  in  later 
years. 


II.     LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 


LINES  TO  A  CLASSMATE 

ON  ONE  BEING  TAKEN  VERY  ILL 

Matt.  8 :  14, 

Beside  the  sufferer's  fever'd  bed 

Behold  the  Saviour  stand, 
Calmly  He  bids  disease  depart, 

And  takes  the  burning  hand. 
Obedient  to  the  voice  of  Him 

Whose  word  allayed  the  storm, 
Fever  at  once  the  victim  leaves  — 

Forsakes  the  vv^asted  form. 

And  is  the  Saviour  weaker  now  ? 

Shortened  His  helping  arm  ? 
Less  willing,  or  less  able  He 

To  shield  from  every  harm  ? 
No  !  He  whose  word  of  matchless  power 

Frees  from  the  threatening  grave  — 
Who  set  at  nought  the  tomb's  embrace. 

Has  still  the  power  to  save. 

May  He,  then,  now  exert  that  power, 

Make  groundless  all  our  fears, 
And  raise  him  from  the  bed  of  pain 

In  answer  to  our  prayers  ! 
Restore  him.  Lord  !  to  eager  friends, 

As  gold  tried  and  refined, 
That  he  may  preach  a  Saviour's  love. 

And  mercy  to  mankind. 

— J.  Hall. 


44 


II 

LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

EARLY  ENTRANCE  AT  COLLEGE.  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF 
THE  PLACE.  DR.  COOKE  AND  DR.  EDGAR.  THE  UNDER- 
GRADUATE DAYS.  SPECIAL  RELIGIOUS  INFLUENCES.  THE 
EVANGELICAL  INFLUENCES.  HIS  FA  THER'S  DEA  TH.  THE  CON- 
NAUGHT  PROPOSALS. 

IT  was  at  an  exceedingly  early  age  even  in  those 
days  that  the  name  of  John  Hall  was  in- 
scribed on  the  books  of  the  College  at  Belfast. 
He  began  his  work  there  with  the  autumn  session 
of  1841,  and  was  therefore  just  beginning  his 
thirteenth  year.  It  is  of  no  little  importance  to 
form  some  estimate  of  the  religious  and  in- 
tellectual atmosphere  from  which  the  boy  went 
and  into  which  he  entered.  Ireland  was  feeling 
the  full  force  of  the  evangelical  movement. 
What  Dr.  Chalmers  was  in  his  way  doing  for 
Scotland  Dr.  Henry  Cooke  was  accomplishing 
for  Ireland.  The  home  in  Ballygorman  had  felt 
the  impulses  of  a  newly  awakened  religious  life. 
The  type  of  personal  piety  which  was  one  of  the 
best  products  of  the  evangelical  movement  was 
familiar  to  the  lad  as  he  saw  it  in  both  his  father 
and  mother.  He  was  too  young  to  have  been 
45 


46   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

greatly  stirred  by  the  battle  which  Dr.  Cooke  had 
just  won  against  moderatism  and  a  loose  Arian- 
ism — as  it  was  called  in  those  days.  The  signs 
of  Dr.  Cooke's  victory  were  the  enforcement  of 
subscription  to  the  standards  and  the  control  of  the 
theological  teaching  in  Belfast.  The  intellectual 
life  of  the  north  of  Ireland  had  been  quickened 
by  the  struggle.  Although  the  College  of  Bel- 
fast as  then  at  work  would  to-day  be  regarded 
as  poorly  equipped,  and  badly  arranged,  neither 
equipment  nor  systems  really  constitute  a  place 
of  learning.  There  was  to  be  found  in  its  teach- 
ing the  fresh  earnest  spirit  of  a  triumphant 
church.  The  class-rooms  still  resounded  with 
the  arguments  and  the  battle-cries  of  the  past 
conflict,  but  better  than  these  battle-cries  there 
pervaded  the  lecture-rooms  a  deep  sense  of  a 
newly  awakened  religious  feeling.  High  per- 
sonal standards  of  godly  living  and  entire  con- 
secration to  the  work  of  the  ministry  made  the 
theological  students  a  powerful  influence  among 
their  fellows.  The  whole  atmosphere  of  the 
place  was  pervaded  by  the  intense  feeling  to 
which  the  reawakening  had  given  rise. 

According  to  the  arrangement  of  studies  the 
first  sessions  were  devoted  to  the  liberal  arts. 
The    professors    in   the  theological   department 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   47 

taught  however,  here  also.  Hence  the  degree 
conferred  upon  "Johannem  Hall"  in  November, 
1845,  is  signed  by  Drs.  Edgar  as  the  moderator 
pro  tern,  Robert  Parks,  Adam  Mongomery  (Ex- 
aminer in  Natural  Philosophy),  Killen  (Professor 
of  History),  Robert  Wilson  (of  Sacred  Literature), 
Esaias  Stern  (Mathematics),  and  John  Bentley 
(Examiner  in  Latin).  From  this  it  is  seen  that 
even  in  the  undergraduate  days  theological  in- 
terests were  not  neglected.  Lecture  courses 
were  paid  for  as  they  were  listened  to,  and  the 
student  received  a  card  from  the  professor  sta- 
ting that  the  fee  had  been  paid  and  the  course 
completed.  At  the  end  of  the  courses  examina- 
tions were  held,  and  in  many  departments  extra 
examinations  for  prizes  were  also  taken.  The 
note-books  of  these  early  studies  only  in  part 
survive,  and  are  not  neatly  kept.  But  the  note- 
books of  the  later  specifically  theological  class- 
room work  exhibit  great  care,  and  are  written  in 
the  fine  and  legible  handwriting  of  which  men- 
tion has  already  been  made. 

Student  life  in  those  days  was  not  what  it  has 
since  become;  and  was  totally  different  from  the 
highly  organized  life  of  an  American  College. 
The  standard  of  expense  was  very  low,  and 
nearly  all  earned  their  way  in  part  at  least.     It  is 


48    LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

needless  to  say  that  a  walk  in  the  country  was  the 
only  athletic  exercise  common  to  all,  and  that  col- 
lege life  was  almost  unknown.  The  students  lived 
in  lodgings.  They  generally  supplied  their  own 
breakfasts  and  teas.  Dinner  was  supplied  to 
groups,  who  clubbed  together  for  the  purpose,  by 
enterprising  families  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
college  building.  The  class-rooms  were  often 
overcrowded.  Some  of  the  instruction  was  in- 
ferior in  quality.  At  the  same  time  a  spirit  of 
earnestness  and  work  made  the  life  a  fruitful  one 
in  achievement  afterwards. 

For  a  boy  so  young  as  was  the  subject  of  this 
life  the  work  was  hard,  and  in  addition  my 
father  soon  began  to  teach  in  a  girls'  school  some 
distance  from  the  college  buildings.  This  work 
of  teaching  he  maintained  until  the  close  of  his 
studies.  He  often  spoke  of  having  rather  wasted 
the  first  two  or  three  years  of  his  Belfast  days, 
but  that  is  not  the  impression  made  by  the  record 
of  his  daily  doings.  His  own  testimony  how- 
ever, given  in  a  letter  written  years  after,  to  a 
nephew  is  as  follows  :  "I  lost  a  good  deal  of 
time  from  being  irregular  in  my  ways  of  work- 
ing, at  one  time  idling,  and  at  another  working  like 
a  horse,  though  the  result  was  too  often  sugges- 
tive of  another  animal  with  longer  ears.    I  hope  you 


— ' ~~~  */ 


>XiA  ^^^!uittz^. ifiJJ!^uu^ -S<^       . ,/> ,  ''Wi-fne 


/I  / 


v>      /'  ^         '^''^  /'         /         ,^- 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   49 

will  work  steadily,  never  running  in  arrears.  Be 
thorough  in  whatever  you  learn  and  skim  nothing." 

Undoubtedly  the  real  intellectual  and  spiritual 
influences  of  the  college  began  to  be  felt  most 
distinctly  when  the  formal  theological  courses 
had  been  entered  upon. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  a  few  earnest  friends 
banded  themselves  together  to  pray,  to  improve 
their  own  spiritual  life  and  to  promote  a  new 
missionary  spirit.  When  separating  for  their  life- 
work  these  friends  resolved  that  on  Saturday 
evenings  they  should  remember  each  other  in 
prayers  and  by  name  as  long  as  they  lived. 

That  little  roll  of  names  has  been  sadly  re- 
duced by  death  and  the  everlasting  reunion 
of  an  eternal  fellowship  has  begun.  The  fel- 
lowship was  very  dear  to  them  all,  and 
formed  an  abiding  influence  upon  my  father's 
life.  Often  on  Saturday  nights  he  spoke  of 
those  friends,  and  recalled  the  early  aspirations 
and  inspirations  of  those  college  days.  He  had 
later  in  life  a  little  reproduction  made  of  his  list 
of  names  and  addresses  as  he  furnished  them  to 
the  little  band  as  a  reminder  of  their  pledge. 

The  missionary  spirit  was  particularly  empha- 
sized by  Dr.  Edgar  who  met  with  the  students 
and  guided  them  in  their  work  and  prayer  con- 


so   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

ferences.  Hence  his  name  appears  among  those 
to  be  ever  remembered  before  the  throne  of 
grace,  although  he  was  as  a  teacher  looked  upon 
somewhat  differently  from  the  student  friends. 
To  Dr.  Edgar  all  eagerly  went  for  advice  and 
help,  and  his  theology  seems,  along  with  that  of 
Dr.  Cooke,  to  have  practically  moulded  the  the- 
ological thought  of  the  little  band. 

The  type  of  thought  was  that  prevalent  about 
that  time  in  Calvinistic  circles  that  had  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  the  evangelical  movement.  Naturally 
it  was  eclectic  and  not  always  scientifically  self- 
consistent,  but  in  its  clear  definiteness,  and  sharp 
positive  outlines,  it  was  a  system  well  suited  for 
the  practical  work  given  the  men  to  do. 

In  Hebrew  and  Church  History  and  later  in 
Church  History  Essays  my  father  repeatedly  took 
prizes  for  good  work.  These  were  in  the  form 
of  well  selected  books,  admirably  bound,  and 
well  fitted  even  to-day  to  grace  a  good  library. 

Naturally  the  north  of  Ireland  looked  largely 
to  Scotland  for  intellectual  stimulus.  Continental 
thought  left  little  or  no  traces  on  the  lecture 
notes,  and  many  of  the  modern  questions  were, 
of  course,  not  even  considered.  Dr.  Cooke  in 
his  controversy  had  had  occasion  to  build  up  a 
very  strict  theory  of    inspiration,  and  this  was 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   51 

thoroughly  inculcated  not  only  by  himself,  but 
by  the  teachers  whom  he  had  to  some  degree 
gathered  about  him  in  Belfast.  The  main  out- 
lines of  this  system  were  accepted  cordially  by 
my  father,  and  he  never  saw  any  reason  for 
seriously  modifying  them. 

The  influence  of  Dr.  Cooke's  clear  system 
softened  a  good  deal  by  the  kindlier  spirit  of  Dr. 
Edgar  is  marked  in  the  correspondence  of  all  these 
student  friends  throughout  its  course. 

in  after  years  the  influence  of  this  supreme  man 
of  action  is  traceable  throughout  my  father's  life, 
even  though  differences  on  various  subjects  had 
somewhat  widely  separated  Dr.  Cooke  from  my 
father.  At  this  time,  also,  a  struggle  was  going 
on  in  the  then  established  church  of  Ireland, 
which  influenced  the  young  student.  This  con- 
flict was  between  the  evangelical  elements  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  so-called  "high  and  dry" 
party  on  the  other,  whose  ascendency  dated  from 
Laud.  In  this  struggle  the  sympathies  of  the 
Presbyterians  were  naturally  with  evangelical- 
ism. This  produced  a  very  deep  and  bitter  feel- 
ing against  the  Presbyterians  on  the  part  of  the 
Established  Church  on  its  high  church  side.  In- 
deed they  attempted  to  revive  old  laws  by  which 
certain  Presbyterian  marriages  were  illegal,  and 


52   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

only  in  1844  was  a  bill  passed  in  the  face  of  the 
bitter  opposition  of  the  Irish  bishops  making  the 
offspring  of  such  marriages  legitimate.  The 
teaching  therefore  of  Belfast  at  that  time  was  full 
of  polemic,  not  always  moderate  in  tone,  against 
the  claims  of  Rome  and  the  High  Church  Episco- 
pacy. Particularly  forceful  and  complete  was 
Dr.  Killen's  treatment  of  the  Protestant  side  of 
this  controversy.  These  were  the  special  in- 
fluences that  controlled  to  a  good  degree  the  de- 
velopment of  my  father's  thought. 

At  the  same  time  distinct  notes  of  the  evangel- 
ical awakening  appear  in  his  early  religious  ex- 
perience. The  very  banding  together  of  the 
group  of  friends  reminds  us  of  similar  bands  in 
Oxford  and  under  the  haystack  in  New  England. 
The  missionary  spirit  was  new  to  Presbyterian- 
ism,  and  was  an  importation  from  the  evangel- 
ical awakening.  This  laid  strong  hold  upon  these 
friends,  and  the  field  of  labor  nearest  to  them  was 
Connaught  and  the  south  of  Ireland  generally. 
The  students  of  the  college  formed  a  society  to 
support  missionaries  of  their  own  in  this  region. 
In  this  work  my  father  took  an  active  part. 

The  social  activity  of  the  awakening  was  also 
a  marked  feature  of  the  best  religious  life  of 
those  days.     Temperance  bands  were  formed  to 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST    53 

combat  the  great  and  increasing  evils  of  drunk- 
enness. The  older  orthodoxy  looked  with  sus- 
picious eye  upon  this  movement,  and  some 
fiercely  resented  it  as  an  imputation  upon  the 
virtue  and  Christian  living  of  undoubtedly  good 
men  of  the  past,  who  nevertheless  often  came 
home  decidedly  the  worse  for  the  social  glass 
always  offered  at  weddings  or  any  social  gathering. 
It  was  at  that  time  the  custom,  as  it  indeed 
still  is  in  parts  of  Ireland  to-day,  to  distribute 
"tokens"  or  little  pieces  of  metal  before  the 
communion  to  those  qualified  to  go  to  the  Lord's 
table.  The  minister  before  the  quarterly  com- 
munion distributes  these  "tokens,"  going  with  an 
elder  from  house  to  house.  At  each  house  some- 
thing was  offered  to  drink,  and  alas!  many  a  time 
the  days  before  the  communion  found  excellent 
men  of  really  godly  disposition  confused  and  dis- 
turbed if  not  actually  intoxicated  in  consequence  of 
the  necessity  laid  upon  them  of  accepting  this  mis- 
taken hospitality.  Against  this  evil  my  grand- 
father, William  Hall  as  an  elder  protested.  And  al-' 
though  he  was  not  himself  a  total  abstainer  in  the 
technical  sense,  he  impressed  upon  his  boy  John  the 
sense  of  the  evils  of  intemperance,  and  led  the  young 
student  to  give  much  of  his  time  both  as  a  young 
man  and  later  on  in  life  to  temperance  reform. 


54   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

My  father  wrote  once  what  he  called  a  "tem- 
perate autobiography "  in  explanation  of  his 
stand  in  this  matter.  He  did  not  sympathize 
with  the  political  extremists  in  his  American  life, 
and  to  some  degree  the  "autobiography"  was 
in  answer  to  criticisms  upon  his  position.  I 
venture  to  quote  the  article  almost  in  full. 

"  In  good  old  times  fifty  years  ago,  informal 
hospitality  took  the  frequent  form  of  a  '  glass  of 
wine'  or  'punch.'  It  was  the  handiest  thing 
to  offer  a  caller  who  came  between  meals.  The 
farmers  were  civil  to  one  another  in  the  way  of 
exchanging  drinks  at  fair  or  market.  Indeed,  in 
many  cases,  this  was  the  way  in  which  they  paid 
for  the  care  of  their  horses:  they  'put  up'  in 
the  yard  of  such  an  inn,  and  it  was  the  correct 
thing  to  'take  something  for  the  good  of  the 
house.'  In  every  parish  one  could  name  two  or 
three  farmers  known  to  be  'too  fond  of  a 
glass;'  but  the  thing  would  not  be  much  or 
severely  spoken  of.  It  was  often  the  one  blot  on 
the  life,  otherwise  exceptionally  good  and  kindly. 
Boys  were  not  encouraged  to  drink;  and  com- 
monly did  not. 

"At  college,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  I  heard,  now 
and  then,  of  a  student  who  took  drink  to  excess. 
Sometimes  they  were  what  we  called  the  '  med- 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   55 

icals.'  Illustrating  the  differences  in  habits  in 
different  countries,  for  a  man  to  be  known  as 
taking  'oyster  suppers'  then  imperilled  his 
reputation.  They  were  a  form  of  costly  luxury, 
indulgence  in  which  was  suspicious.  We  were 
few  of  us  rich.  We  all  paid  our  own  way,  and 
our  class  fees,  and  most  of  us  learned  two  things 
—the  value  of  a  shilling,  and  the  habit  of  self- 
reliance.  The  only  temperance  advocates  of 
whom  I  had  then  any  knowledge  were  three; 
first.  Father  Mathew,  who,  from  1840  onward, 
made  himself  felt  in  Ireland;  then  Lyman 
Beecher,  whose  '  six  sermons '  had  been  brought 
to  my  notice  by  Dr.  John  Edgar,  the  third,  and 
who  ardently  urged  temperance  as  distinguished 
from  total  abstinence.  Though  he  took  no 
wine  himself,  his  arguments  and  societies  were 
against  the  use  of  'intoxicating  liquors,'  and  he 
did  not  put  wine  among  them.  The  first  I  only 
knew  by  public  reports;  the  second  by  the  'six 
sermons;'  the  third  I  often  heard,  and  later 
came  to  know  intimately.  He  was  a  noble,  elo- 
quent, public-spirited  man. 

"  Before  graduating  I  lived  for  eighteen  months 
in  the  house  of  the  teacher  at  whose  school  I  had 
prepared  for  college.  I  was  classical  master. 
Friendly  entertainments  were  common,   for  he 


56   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

was  well-to-do  and  hospitable.  From  the  influ- 
ences already  named  I  took  no  drink  at  dinner, 
the  way  being,  on  these  occasions,  to  remove  the 
cloth,  and  set  down  wines  and  stronger  drinks, 
sugar  and  hot  water.  I  recall  with  gratitude  the 
kindness  of  his  wife  who  used  to  'slip'  before 
me  delicious  raspberry  vinegar,  which,  with 
sugar  and  hot  water,  looked  as  nice  as  anybody's 
'tumbler,'  and  saved  the  awkwardness  of  a 
very  verdant  youth  tacitly  rebuking  his  seniors. 
The  hospitality  was  well  meant,  but  bad  in  its 
effects.  I  can  recall,  among  others,  a  man  of  un- 
doubted genius — for  it  requires  genius  to  inspire 
boys  of  twelve  with  a  love  of  Homer — whose 
professional  career  was  marred  by  the  habits 
there,  at  least  in  part,  contracted. 

"  Entering  the  theological  college  in  1845,  1  was 
a  student  under  Dr.  Edgar.  Some  ministers  had 
been  deposed  for  intemperance.  A  temperance 
society  was  formed;  it  is  hard  to  say  why,  but 
my  fellow-students  made  me  its  secretary.  Its 
promise  was  against  '  intoxicating  drinks.'  We 
were  not  bound  against  wine,  but  we  rarely 
drank  it;  some  from  disinclination;  some  for  the 
same  reason  that  many  estimable  people  here  in 
New  York  do  not  eat  terrapin. 

"  We  were  practically  total  abstainers,  but  with 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   57 

a  general  idea  that  to  include  wine  in  our  pledge 
would  reflect  upon  names  and  institutions  relig- 
iously dear  to  us.  Then  I  became  a  minister,  and 
of  course  had  often  to  remonstrate  with  persons 
who  '  drank  to  be  drunk.'  Many  of  these  were 
farmers,  first  in  the  West,  and  then  in  the  county- 
town  of  my  native  county.  A  sturdy  farmer  of 
my  charge  would  fall  under  my  eye,  on  the  mar- 
ket-day, when  he  would  rather  not  have  seen 
me.  Talking  to  him  then  would  have  been  un- 
wise. Taking  him  in  a  calmer  mood  and  a 
quieter  place  I  would  make  my  kindly  protest. 
These  men  are  commonly  honest  and  frank,  and 
I  always  liked  them  for  it.  '  All  very  well,  for 
you,  Mr.  Hall,'  (I  had  not  been  doctored  then), 
'  to  talk  that  way.  You  can  take  your  wine. 
We  can't  do  that ;  we  take  what  we  can  get,  and 
it  is  stronger.'    So  he  would  answer. 

"Then  it  was — over  thirty  years  ago— that  I 
came  to  say:  'Well,  I  rarely  take  it,  but  to  take 
that  ground  from  under  your  feet,  here,  now,  1 
abstain  from  wine,  too,  as  a  beverage,'  and  1 
found  the  appeal  so  made  had  its  weight  with 
them.  I  found  others  of  my  friends  pursuing 
the  same  course,  and  also  putting  it  from  their 
table,  and  ceasing  to  offer  it  to  friends.  When 
we  said  'as  a  beverage'  we  meant  to  exclude 


58    LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

the  communion  wine  and  the  medicinal  use  of  it, 
and  on  that  ground  my  old  associates  in  Ireland 
still  stand." 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  temperance  band  men- 
tioned above  for  temperance  reform  finds  expres- 
sion in  the  correspondence  of  that  date. 

Slavery  was  not  a  burning  question  in  the 
north  of  Ireland,  but  it  was  one  of  the  issues 
forced  upon  England  by  the  evangelical  revival, 
so  in  Ireland  also  meetings  were  held  to  denounce 
slavery  and  encourage  the  "  underground  rail- 
road "  in  America  in  its  operations  just  then  be- 
ginning. 

This  "heresy,"  for  so  it  also  was  deemed  by 
the  older  orthodoxy,  my  father  also  embraced, 
and  this  interest  together  with  the  missionary 
enthusiasm  soon  led  to  a  correspondence  with 
Mr.  George  H.  Stuart  of  Philadelphia,  his  distant 
cousin  and  lifelong  friend. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  most  signal  note  of  the 
marked  connection  between  the  evangelical 
movement  and  this  religious  interest  was  the 
emphasis  early  placed  upon  teaching.  Just  as 
the  Methodist  movement  began  by  starting 
schools,  so  the  missionary  activity  of  the  new 
spiritual  life  in  the  north  of  Ireland  was  shown 
in  the  desire  to  bring  spelling  and  reading  within 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   59 

the  reach  of  even  the  poorest,  whether  Protestant 
or  Catholic.  This  firm  confidence  that  education 
must  bring  the  truth  of  God  to  light,-  and  a  cer- 
tain fearlessness  born  of  the  assurance  that  the 
truth  will  stand  examination  marked  the  whole 
tone  of  Dr.  Cooke's  and  Dr.  Edgar's  teachings; 
it  also  controlled  wholesomely  their  ecclesiastical 
policy,  but  has  not  always  found  imitators. 

This  same  Protestant  spirit  also  marked  the 
temper  of  my  father.  He  felt  that  even  danger- 
ous teachings  must  be  duly  and  fairly  examined, 
then  answered  and  exposed.  In  this  spirit  and 
under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Killen  he  made  as  a 
student  an  examination  of  the  Jesuit  movement, 
and  produced  an  essay  that  gained  recognition 
by  taking  of  a  prize.  The  fairness  and  calmness 
of  the  treatment  of  this  topic  by  a  boy  in  the  north 
of  Ireland  at  that  day  is  a  quite  remarkable  evi- 
dence of  the  sanity  of  the  historical  class-room. 
Naturally  the  literature  at  hand  was  limited  in 
amount  and  defective  in  accuracy;  at  the  same 
time  the  spirit  of  the  essay  is  scholarly  and  al- 
though of  course  intensely  Protestant  is  free 
from  the  fanatical  perversions  all  too  common  in 
even  mature  polemical  writing. 

The  personal  religious  life  of  the  day  was  also 
strongly  under  the  influence  of  the  evangelical 


6o   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

modes  of  expression.  The  eager,  sober-minded 
student,  hardly  started  upon  the  ministry  before 
a  diary  was  opened  in  which  religious  experience 
and  the  results  of  careful  self-examination  are  duly 
noted.  Later  side-notes  mark  the  distrust  my 
father  felt  of  this  excessive  self-examination 
made  common  by  the  Methodist  class-room.  At 
the  same  time  what  has  for  us  at  this  day  an  air 
of  unreality  if  not  of  positive  cant,  was  without 
question  the  sincere  and  earnest  expression  of 
powerful  longings,  not  always  happily  expressed, 
for  a  more  profound  spiritual  experience,  and  a 
higher  personal  attainment  in  holiness. 

Another  mark  was  the  religious  poetry  in 
which  all  the  friends  seem  to  have  more  or  less 
indulged.  In  undergraduate  days  my  father 
filled  a  note-book  with  somewhat  indifferent,  yet 
harmless  and  even  smooth  good  English  verse. 
Later  he  brands  the  volume  as  "trash"  and 
marks  the  fact  that  now  he  despised  what  he  then 
admired,  and  disclaims  particularly  some  very 
harmless  verse  in  honor  of  a  young  lady  related 
to  him  and  an  old  family  friend.  From  this  on 
the  verses  are  religious  in  character,  though  the 
literary  quality  does  not  improve.  In  his  later 
studies  of  English  literature  the  student  again  re- 
turned to  secular  themes,  and  often  my  father  has 


1 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   6i 

told  me  that  verse  making  was  in  his  judgment  a 
fine  training  for  the  rhythm  and  balance  needed 
in  a  rhetorical  pulpit  style.  He  continued  also 
the  habit  gained  from  his  father  of  learning 
poetry,  and  although  he  seldom,  quoted  it  in  his 
later  years,  his  early  sermons  have  frequent  quo- 
tations included,  and  indeed  so  many  are  closed 
with  a  selection  of  poetry  that  it  seems  almost  to 
have  been  a  habit  in  early  life  to  do  this. 

At  this  time  the  young  student's  taste  seems  to 
have  been  for  the  rather  morbid  religious  poetry 
of  the  evangelical  revival,  and  for  Byron.  He 
did  not  own  Shakespeare,  but  at  his  boarding- 
house  in  Belfast  the  works  of  the  master  were  in 
the  dining-room.  School  duties  kept  him  up  to 
dinner-time,  or  nearly  so,  and  he  went  directly 
from  the  school  where  he  taught  to  the  boarding- 
place.  There  in  the  few  minutes  that  elapsed 
before  the  meal  was  ready  he  succeeded  in  read- 
ing the  whole  edition  through.  The  class-book 
notes  of  some  of  the  college  afternoon  sessions 
are  enriched  by  eager  imitations  of  the  dramas 
that  had  been  thus  devoured  while  he  was  wait- 
ing. 

Life  early  became  a  very  sober  reality  for  the 
eldest  boy  in  a  large  family.  The  head  of  the 
household  was   most    evidently    failing  rapidly. 


62   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

Both  father  and  son  were  eager  to  see  the  college 
and  theological  courses  completed.  For  the 
father  this  was  not  quite  to  be.  On  the  20th  of 
September,  1848,  the  son  was  suddenly  called  to 
say  farewell  to  his  best  earthly  friend.  He  had 
reached  home  in  time,  and  in  a  letter  to  his  friend 
Matthew  Kerr  he  announced  his  loss.  The  letter 
is  mature  for  a  lad  of  nineteen  in  the  midst  of  his 
first  real  and  terrible  sorrow.     He  writes  : 

45  Joy  Street, 
Septetnber  26th. 
My  Dear  Matthew: 

The  event  which  has  stained  this  paper  (the  black  border) 
has  been  the  cause  of  my  long  silence  at  which  you  no  doubt 
wondered.  On  Saturday  fortnight  I  was  written  for  to  see  my 
father,  and  till  he  had  passed  into  a  world  without  sickness  or 
pain  I  sat  by  his  bed,  rejoicing  that  in  him  patience  had  (done) 
its  perfect  work.  .  .  .  After  this  he  had  no  pain  but 
what  followed  from  weakness  and  exhaustion  and  on  Tuesday 
night  last  slept  in  Jesus.  The  day  before  I  got  home  he  had 
"  set  his  house  in  order,"  and  after  that  act  he  spoke  and 
prayed  as  one  who  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  world.  He  was 
able  to  converse  freely  till  the  last,  and  his  conversation  was 
in  heaven.  We  had  made  it  a  subject  of  prayer  that  he  might 
have  such  glimpses  of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  as  might 
entirely  wean  the  affections  from  earth — was  that  right  ?  At 
any  rate,  it  would  appear  to  have  been  granted,  as  he  spoke  of 
the  last  enemy  with  perfect  composure,  talked  of  his  change 
with  joy  though  we  all  wept  around  him,  and  appeared  to  have 
much  of  the  assurance  of  faith.  On  my  offering  him  a  little 
wine  at  one  time  he  said  he  should  soon  "  drink  new  wine  in 
our  Father's  Kingdom,"  and  when  I  asked  him  had  he  no  fears 
for  eternity,  his  answer  was  "  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?     It 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   63 

is  Christ  that  died,  etc."  I  have  reason  to  bless  God  that  I  was 
able  to  talk  with  him  as  one  friend  to  another  for  it  seemed  as  if 
the  relations  of  father  and  son  were  at  times  forgotten  and  we 
became  equals  in  Christ.  On  Friday  most  of  our«congregation, 
of  which  he  was  the  oldest  elder,  though  but  fifty,  and  very  many 
friends  of  all  denominations  accompanied  all  of  him  that  was 
mortal  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  living.  The  text  of  a 
funeral  sermon  preached  yesterday  was  appropriate,  "  The 
righteous  hath  hope  in  his  death."  ...  I  hope  you 
will  write  to  me  soon.  I  trust  I  am  not  repining  although  I 
feel  very  lonely  and  melancholy,  at  times  I  cannot  repress  a  feel- 
ing of  desolation — but  I  bless  God  that  I  need  not  sorrow  as 
those  who  have  no  hope.  If  you  would  learn  divinity  go  to 
the  deathbed  of  a  believer,  if  you  would  know  the  meaning  of 
Christ's  being  precious  see  a  believer  looking  death  in  the  face. 
If  you  would  see  the  sufficiency  of  the  doctrine  of  free  grace  to 
support  and  comfort  in  the  last  struggles  hear  a  believer's  dying 
words.  My  father's  were  "  I  die  happy."  This  he  repeated 
suddenly  as  if  some  new  idea  had  flashed  on  his  mind.  After 
this  he  only  repeated  with  difficulty  "  Why  tarry  the  wheels, 
etc.,"  and  soon  after  murmured  with  difficulty  "joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory ! "  and  soon  slept  away.  Dear  Matthew, 
"  may  you  and  I  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  our 
latter  end  be  like  his."     .     .     . 

Ever  affectionately  yours, 

J.  Hall. 

This  death  meant  very  serious  struggle  with 
uncertainty  and  various  calls  of  seeming  duty. 
The  family  was  not  rich.  The  teaching  that  had 
so  largely  been  supporting  the  student  had  been 
given  up  to  go  to  the  sick  bedside.  And  a  call  to 
go  to  work  in  Connaught  had  been  pressed  in- 
directly by  some  interested  in  the  schools  there. 


64   LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST 

The  mother  was  firm  in  her  intention  to  have  the 
study  for  God's  ministry  unbroken.  The  place 
in  the  school  was  kept  open,  and  my  father  re- 
turned feeling  that  he  could  be  more  use  to  his 
brothers  and  sisters  if  he  completed  honorably 
his  course  of  study.  It  was  with  heart  heavy 
with  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  whole  family, 
a  burden  never  laid  down  while  life  lasted,  that 
the  bereaved  boy  returned  to  Belfast  to  take  up 
the  final  duties  and  decisions  of  a  last  year  of  the- 
ological education. 

The  band  of  students  had  settled  upon  their 
youngest  member  to  represent  them  on  the  mis- 
sionary field  of  Connaught.  Matthew  Kerr  and 
Hamilton  Magee  were  already  at  work,  and  with 
much  misgiving  and  fear  and  trembling  the  de- 
cision was  accepted  as  "from  the  Lord,"  and  the 
immediate  future  was  thus  determined.  Al- 
though with  a  large  measure  of  self-control  my 
father  was  really  a  shy  and  self-distrustful  man. 
He  was  also  proud  in  the  best  sense  of  that  word. 
Self-respect  was  born  in  him,  and  no  virtue  has 
shone  more  clearly  in  the  stock  from  which  he 
sprang.  He  greatly  dreaded  the  coming  plunge 
into  active  life.  He  dreaded  meeting  new  faces 
and  new  ways.  And  yet  through  his  shy  self- 
distrust  there  breaks  from  time  to  time  the  sense 


LIFE  AND  STUDIES  IN  BELFAST   65 

of  strength  and  confidence  in  his  cause  and  in 
himself. 

He  passed  out  from  the  college  with  the  love 
and  respect  of  all  his  classmates,  and  the  high 
regards  of  his  instructors.  With  Dr.  Edgar  and 
Dr.  Killen  his  relations  became  those  of  intimacy. 
With  Dr.  Cooke  he  always  felt  a  sense  of  "dis- 
tant awe,"  he  once  remarked,  and  although  the 
relations  remained  cordial  up  to  the  parting,  when 
death  took  Dr.  Cooke,  yet  some  differences  of 
judgment  in  regard  to  ecclesiastical  politics  pre- 
vented, in  addition  to  great  differences  in  age, 
the  same  intimate  relations  that  marked  the 
friendships  with  the  others.  Moreover  Dr. 
Cooke  was  in  these  last  years  not  very  active  as 
a  teacher,  and  only  in  his  ministry  and  in  a  class 
in  Bible  exposition  did  my  father  come  much  in 
contact  with  the  great  leader  to  whom  Irish  Prot- 
estantism owes  so  great  a  debt. 


III.     THE  WESl^  OF  IRELAND 


JESUS,  SAVIOUR,  PLEAD  FOR  ME! 

Weaker  than  a  bruised  reed, 
Lord,  I  go  Thy  cause  to  plead ; 
Thou  my  guide,  my  helper  be, 
Jesus,  Saviour,  plead  for  me  ! 

Though  I  meet  contempt  and  scorn 
I'll  recall  what  Thou  hast  borne ; 
Thou  hast  shared  in  failure's  lot, 
And  Thine  own  received  Thee  not. 

Give  me,  Lord,  Thy  humble  mind. 
Make  me  courteous,  meek  and  kind, 
What  I  need  do  Thou  impart, 
Help  me  reach  man's  hungry  heart. 

Grant  me,  as  in  utmost  need 
For  Thee  and  Thy  cause  to  plead ; 
Should  my  voice  still  powerless  be, 
Jesus,  Saviour,  plead  for  me ! 

— J.  H.  in  Missionary  Herald,    i860. 


68 


Ill 

THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  IVEST.  THE  SOCIAL  CONDITIONS.  THE 
^POTATO  BLIGHT.  DR.  EDGAR'S  NOTE  OF  ALARM.  SYMPATHY 
IN  BELFAST.  THE  STUDENT  MISSIONARY.  VULPIT  SHYNESS. 
INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS.  THE  FORMS  OF  OPPOSITION.  NEWS- 
TAPER  WORK.     THE  CALL  TO  ARMAGH. 

ALL  the  evils  of  wrong  social  adjustment  in  its 
many  forms  have  made  themselves  seen  in 
fearful  vividness  in  Ireland.  The  distances  be- 
tween the  owners  and  the  workers  of  the  soil 
have  been  made  felt  by  differences  in  religion, 
custom,  race  and  even  tongue.  In  the  change 
from  an  agricultural  to  an  industrial  state  England 
suffered  bitterly,  but  she  had  coal  and  made  the 
change  to  her  advantage  in  the  main.  Ireland 
had  no  coal.  Blundering  and  even  purposely 
selfish  laws  had  wiped  out  what  industry  Ireland 
possessed.  Only  in  the  north  of  Ireland,— where 
relative  homogeneity  of  population,  a  greater 
intelligence,  Protestant  freedom  and  the  nearness 
of  English  coal  gave  industry  a  chance  to  survive, 
did  the  population  really  prosper. 
In  the  south  and  west  the  introduction  of  the 

potato  made  existence  possible  for  a  large  pop- 
69 


70  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

ulation,  but  it  also  excluded  any  thought  of 
proper  progress.  No  section  was  more  depend- 
ent upon  the  potato  than  the  beautiful  but  poor 
province  of  Connaught,  and  no  part  of  that  prov- 
ince is  poorer  than  the  southern  section  immedi- 
ately between  the  Shannon  and  the  wild  Atlantic. 
Here  in  1846  the  blight  that  fell  upon  the  potato  was 
felt  at  once.  Hunger  stared  the  peasant  in  the  face. 
Dr.  John  Edgar,  professor  of  divinity  at  the 
Royal  college  of  Belfast,  was  at  that  time  in  Con- 
naught  making  an  evangelistic  tour.  He  was 
the  first  to  sound  the  alarm  of  coming  famine  in 
a  letter  which  had  an  enormous  circulation.  The 
interest  aroused  in  Belfast  was,  of  course,  very 
great.  In  a  letter  to  the  Banner  of  Ulster  Dr. 
Edgar  wrote  of  the  population:  "  The  great  pro- 
portion of  them  live  on  a  bare  and  unproductive 
soil;  a  few  are  possessors  of  as  fertile  a  land  as 
was  ever  warmed  by  a  genial  sun.  But  what 
can  a  farm  of  three  or  four  acres — the  average 
size  over  large  districts — do  for  the  support  of  a 
family  ?  Oats  grown  on  it  all,  without  any  pas- 
ture for  the  lean  ass,  man's  faithful  servant  here, 
would  be  far,  indeed,  from  producing,  in  meal, 
a  sufficient  supply,  even  were  the  landlord  to 
forego  his  whole  claim.  The  potato,  therefore, 
has  been  the  only  resource,  and  in  most  cases 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  71 

without  any  addition  but  salt,  or  as  a  luxury  salt 
fish,  their  only  food.  Corn  mills  are  for  the  rich, 
and  even  the  old  querns,'  once  turned  by  the 
hand  of  the  poor,  are  of  no  use  now;  for  the  pig 
so  carefully  reared,  and  all  the  corn,  scarcely  suf- 
fice to  satisfy  the  landlord's  demands." 

The  awful  year  of  famine  was  followed  by  a 
year  of  hunger  typhus.  The  famine  had  not,  of 
course,  touched  the  richer  land-owning  classes, 
but  the  fever  did,  and  in  1848  their  resources 
were  strained  and  financial  disaster  followed  for 
them.  Ruin  passed  from  family  to  family  over 
the  whole  south  and  west  of  the  country. 
Then  to  crown  all  in  1849  cholera  made  its  ap- 
pearance and  stalked  amidst  the  hunger-racked 
peasantry,  and  the  now  bewildered  and  dis- 
heartened gentry. 

It  was  only  natural  that  the  Student's  Mission- 
ary association,  with  Dr.  Edgar  as  the  leading 
spirit,  should  turn  to  distracted  Connaught  for 
their  field  of  labor.  So  it  came  about  that  the 
association  chose  one  of  the  youngest  graduates 
of  1849  to  follow  some  friends,  sent  the  year 
before,  into  the  work  of  home  missions  in  the 
west  of  Ireland. 

I  Quern  was  the  coarse  hand-mill  used  to  grind  the  corn  for 
distilling  purposes. 


72  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

It  was  thus  in  the  summer  of  1849,  on  the  6th 
of  June,  that  my  father  started  on  the  long 
journey,  of  those  days,  for  Connaught.  The 
mail  coach  left  Belfast  very  early  in  the  morning, 
but  only  part  of  the  way  could  be  travelled  by  the 
mail  coach,  hence  a  car  was  used  from  Clone  to 
the  final  destination. 

It  was  with  great  fear  and  trembling  that  the 
raw  and  shy  lad  fresh  from  college  undertook  the 
work.  Letters  of  that  period  speak  of  long  and 
prayerful  consideration.  Self-distrust  and  fear  lest 
the  cause  should  suffer  through  inexperience 
or  want  of  thought  made  the  young  student  hes- 
itate longer  than  Dr.  Edgar  thought  right,  in  un- 
dertaking the  commission  of  the  students. 

The  examination  before  the  presbytery  had 
been  satisfactory,  although  shyness  had  been  so 
marked  in  the  sermon  which  had  to  be  preached, 
that  one  of  the  older  members  in  kindly  fashion  told 
the  young  preacher  he  would  get  more  help  look- 
ing into  the  eyes  of  those  he  was  speaking  to  than 
by  trying  to  bore  a  hole  in  the  roof  with  his  eye.  ^ 

The  work  Dr.  Edgar  had  started  in  the  west  of 
Ireland  consisted  largely  in  schools  of  an  indus- 
trial as  well  as  religious  character.     He  had  seen 

1  The  first  actual  sermon  preached  was  in  the  little  school- 
house  at  Ballygorman — his  old  home. 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  -^i^ 

that  the  population  must  learn  to  support  itself, 
and  that  particularly  the  women  must  be  taught 
some  useful  art.  Thousands  of  the  young  men 
were  already  leaving  the  countryside.  Women 
and  girls  were  left.  Knitting  and  embroidering 
linen  were  the  household  arts  of  the  north  of 
Ireland.  An  association  was  formed  in  Belfast 
of  women  to  cooperate  with  Christian  women 
over  the  west  of  Ireland  in  founding  schools  in 
which  reading  the  Bible  and  knitting  and  em- 
broidery formed  the  threefold  course.  In  this 
school  work  teachers  were  employed,  but  volun- 
tary effort  was  also  engaged. 

My  father  had  had,  for  so  young  a  man,  a  wide 
experience  in  teaching.  As  a  mere  child  he  had 
taught  a  night  class,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the 
kitchen  of  the  old  home.  From  that  on  he  was 
engaged  in  teaching  more  or  less  steadily  all 
through  his  course.  In  his  college  experience  he 
had  had  to  do  with  girls  and  young  ladies, 
some  older  than  himself.  All  this  was  of  great 
help  to  him  as  he  undertook  his  missionary  work 
in  Ireland.  Often  in  after  life  he  has  said  to  me, 
"No  knowledge  or  experience  comes  amiss  to 
the  preacher." 

His  work  was  the  inspection  of  schools,  preach- 
ing at  various  stations,  distributing  tracts,  visit- 


74  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

ing  the  people  at  their  homes,  and  establishing 
Sunday-schools.  He  rode  a  good  deal  from 
place  to  place,  and  preached  as  often  as  a  service 
could  be  arranged.  The  nearest  larger  centre 
was  Boyle,  and  headquarters  were  near  Camlin. 
Here  the  schools  had  had  the  earnest  and  untiring 
support  of  Mrs.  Emily  Irwin,  the  lifelong  friend 
of  Dr.  Edgar.  From  the  very  beginning  of  the 
work  a  warm  friendship  was  established  be- 
tween Mrs.  Irwin  and  my  father.  Mrs.  Irwin 
had  been  married  very  early  in  life,  and  very 
early  had  been  left  a  widow  with  three  little  boys. 
The  affection  between  my  father  and  Mrs.  Irwin 
ripened  into  love,  and  very  soon  a  practical  en- 
gagement was  concluded.  The  union  was  a  most 
fitting  one,  and  like  interests  and  tastes  made  the 
relationship  a  sweet  and  blessed  partnership  in 
the  life  work  of  the  ministry.  Mrs.  Irwin  had 
offered  a  site  to  her  own  church — the  Established 
Church  of  Ireland — for  a  school,  but  this  offer 
was  refused.  Dr.  Edgar  however  accepted  it, 
and  secured  hearty  support  of  his  work  in  Cam- 
lin from  the  whole  Irwin  relationship.  These 
schools  were  productive  of  a  vast  amount  of 
good,  and  years  after  in  the  far  west  of  America 
prosperous  farms  and  comfortable  homes  told  of 
the  good  the  instruction  in  these  schools  had  done. 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  75 

One  of  the  little  band  of  college  friends,  the 
Rev,  Matthew  Kerr,  was  at  work  at  Dromore 
West,  some  distance  from  Boyle,  and  another,  the 
Rev.  Hamilton  Magee,  was  engaged  at  some  little 
distance  from  Dromore.  It  was  therefore  one  of 
the  pleasures  of  the  work  that  an  occasional  day 
could  be  spent  together.  Thus  on  the  i8th  of 
June  is  an  entry  in  a  day-book,  kept  rather  irreg- 
ularly:— "Came  home  Sunday  night  wearied 
from  preaching,  but  did  not  go  to  bed.  At  three 
o'clock  A.  M.  rode  to  Boyle,  by  mail  to  Ballysodere 
— thence  by  coach  to  Dromore  to  meet  my  dear 
friend  Matt.  Kerr — all  day  there — saw  'the 
Tower '  and  in  the  evening  joined  by  Hamilton 
Magee — happy." 

The  ordination  as  missionary  took  place  in 
October  in  Ballina  where  the  presbytery  met  in 
1850,  and  by  that  time  the  work  of  the  district 
was  in  fullest  activity.  The  discouragements 
were  however  great.  Many  were  leaving  for 
America.  Land  was  rising  again  in  rental  price 
from  the  efforts  of  English  undertakers  to  in- 
crease the  size  of  holdings  and  use  the  land  for 
pastorage.  Nor  was  the  reception  on  the  part  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  priest  cordial.  They  looked 
upon  the  whole  movement  as  an  attempt  to  take 
advantage  of  the  needs  of  the  people  to  proselytize. 


76  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

The  work  although  done  by  Presbyterian  min- 
isters was  in  some  sense  undenominational. 
Money  was  contributed  to  the  school  work  by 
Methodists,  Episcopalians  and  especially  by 
Quakers.  The  instruction  was  simple  and 
mainly  in  the  reading  of  the  Bible.  Even  Roman 
Catholic  teachers  were  employed,  and  no  pressure 
was  brought  to  bear  on  either  parents  or  chil- 
dren to  become  Protestants,  save  only  as  the  in- 
struction in  reading  the  Bible  tended  that  way. 
Yet  it  was  distinctly  not  only  a  Protestant  but  an 
evangelical  work  and  as  such  had  the  natural  op- 
position of  the  priests. 

Nor  were  the  priests  the  only  ones  to  resent 
the  movement.  The  High  Church  party  of  those 
days  was  rather  the  party  of  Laud  and  the  "  high 
and  dry'  Anglicans  of  English  History,  than 
what  we  now  understand  by  the  term.  For  this 
type  of  thinking  the  Presbyterian  Church  was 
more  unsympathetic  than  the  Roman  communion. 
The  Established  Church  was  sharply  divided  into 
evangelical  and  High  Church  parties.  The  evan- 
gelicals eagerly  assisted  in  all  the  work  of  the 
schools,  and  indeed  in  most  cases  had  charge  of 
them.  The  rector  and  curate,  however,  of  Boyle 
fiercely  resented  the  intrusion  of  Presbyterian 
preaching.     In  a  letter  dated  June  the  eleventh, 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  77 

1850,  my  father  writes  to  his  friend  the   Rev. 
Matthew  Kerr: 

"  My  Dear  Matthew  :— 


"  I  fear  you  think  I  was  '  stiff  '  in  the  matter  of 
your  '  soiree.'  No,  no,  I  really  could  not  go. 
About  that  time  the  Boyle  clergy  were  preaching 
against  me,  and  one  of  the  sermons  I  am  told  is 
in  the  press.  The  result  will,  I  trust,  be  most 
beneficial  to  us.  it  was  meantime  diminished 
by  half  our  Boyle  congregations;  one  of  the 
curates  actually  walking  before  the  chapel,  and 
turning  the  people  back.  But  it  has  confirmed 
many  of  our  higher  class  hearers  who  won't  be 
frightened  and  who  come  out  here  (Camlin)  to 
show  their  sense  of  the  wrong  done  us.  The 
curate  in  one  sermon,  without  any  names,  com- 
pared me  to  'Absalom  (!)  stealing  the  hearts  of 
his  Israel,'  and  warned  them  against  being  led 
away  by  '  youthful  zeal,  etc'  On  Monday  week 
a  missionary  Church  clergyman,  a  rector  in 
County  Longford,  visited  Camlin,  where  I  dined 
on  the  day  of  his  arrival  to  meet  him.  I  asked 
him  to  lecture  for  me  next  evening,  which  he 
did.  1  conducted  the  services  and  he  preached. 
On  Thursday  he  went  into  Boyle  with  me  and 


78  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

was  a  hearer  in  our  congregation.  This  has  set 
all  the  High  Church  element  about  Boyle  into  the 
most  violent  ferment,  and  they  talk  of  '  bringing 
him  over  the  coals  '  for  it." 

On  the  other  hand  the  relations  with  the 
Wesleyans  and  the  evangelical  section  of  the 
Established  Church  were  most  cordial.  The 
superstition  of  the  people  was  very  great.  At 
one  time  a  priest  denounced  from  the  altar  with 
great  violence  my  mother  who  was  exceedingly 
active  in  the  school  and  relief  work.  That  week 
she  was  taken  very  ill  with  fever,  and  for  some 
weeks  lay  at  death's  door.  The  interpretation 
put  upon  the  incident  was  in  danger  of  really  in- 
juring the  school  work,  when  the  priest  himself 
took  ill.  He,  poor  fellow,  died  of  the  disease 
and  my  mother  fully  recovered.  The  supersti- 
tious people  now  reversed  the  judgment  and  saw 
in  the  circumstance  a  direct  endorsement  of  what 
the  poor  priest  had  denounced. 

Another  discouragement  was  the  political  con- 
dition. The  fierce  resentment  of  the  oppressed 
Irish  poor  sought  political  utterance.  The  leaders 
were  however,  naturally,  not  of  the  highest  class, 
and  political  violence  and  short-sighted  demands 
united  the  landowning  and  intelligent  classes  in  a 
resistance  to  the  peasant  movement  which  in- 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  79 

eluded  many  reasonable  demands  as  well  as  the 
unreasoning  violence.  The  condition  was  de- 
plorable. Dr.  Edgar  himself  described  it  vividly 
in  a  letter  to  the  Banner  of  Ulster.  "The  real 
fact  of  the  case  is  this: — The  poor  Connaught 
man  eats  none  of  his  own  corn,  none  of  his  own 
butter,  pig,  all  go  to  pay  his  rent;  and  whatever 
potatoes  remain  after  the  pig  is  fed,  are  the  only 
food,  the  only  support  of  his  family."  He  also 
defended  in  the  same  letter  the  character  of  the 
Connaught  peasant.  "It  is  a  libel,"  he  wrote, 
"  on  the  poor  Irishman  to  say  that  he  is  too  lazy 
or  too  savage  to  seek  for  better  food  than  pota- 
toes. His  only  nourishment  is  potatoes  because 
the  other  products  of  his  farm  go  to  his  landlord, 
and  because  potatoes  are  the  only  crop  sufficiently 
productive  to  save  himself  and  his  family  from 
starvation." 

Around  Camlin  the  poverty  was  not  quite  so 
great  as  in  some  other  districts,  yet  on  the  whole 
the  poverty  was  deep,  settled  and  extreme.  The 
Mayo  district  Dr.  Edgar  in  another  place  describes 
as  follows:  "When  distress  comes  on  a  man  in 
humble  life  here,  (the  north  of  Ireland)  he  has 
some  little  store  on  which  to  draw — if  not  money 
at  least  furniture,  or  extra  clothing,  which  he  can 
place  in  pawn;  but  the  Connaught  man  has  no 


8o  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

clothing  but  what  he  wears;  and  as  for  furniture, 
you  might  enter  house  after  house  in  Connaught, 
as  I  have  done,  and  find  no  table,  no  chair,  no 
cupboard,  no  bedstead,  deserving  the  name,  no 
spoon,  no  knife,  no  anything,  except  a  square 
box,  and  a  potato  pot,  which  a  pawnbroker 
would  not  take  in  pawn.  In  fact  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  houses  are  not  fit  for  anything  that 
we  would  dignify  with  the  name  of  furniture. 
They  have  no  chimney,  no  window;  their  floors 
are  fearfully  damp,  their  roofs  are  often  not 
water-tight,  and  the  general  custom  is  to  have 
cow,  pig,  ass,  and  geese,  all  in  the  same  apart- 
ment with  the  family — all  sleeping  together,  and 
all  going  in  and  out  by  the  same  door." 

Amid  such  scenes  the  work  was  often  depress- 
ing in  the  extreme,  and  in  the  notes  and  verses 
of  this  period  there  is  reflected  at  times  the  wear- 
iness and  heartsickness  such  poverty  and  blank 
ignorance  must  produce. 

The  cheerful  home  in  Camlin  was  a  pleasure 
that  could  only  be  enjoyed  at  intervals.  The 
first  year  and  a  half  were  spent  in  unceasing  in- 
spections of  schools  and  preaching  at  stations 
often  widely  apart,  with  the  congregation  at 
Boyle  always  demanding  steady  attention.  Then 
study  had  to  be  kept  up,  and  late  hours  became 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  8i 

the  rule.  At  last  health  began  to  suffer,  and  the 
diary  begins  to  note  the  fact  that  bed  had  to  be 
sought  earlier,  and  work  had  to  be  done  in  the 
morning.  Yet  up  to  very  late  in  life  the  habit  of 
my  father  was  to  do  much  of  his  work  late  at 
night.  The  house  was  quiet,  callers  did  not  dis- 
turb, and  far  on  into  the  small  hours  the  busy 
pen  kept  rapid  pace  on  the  paper. 

In  Connaught  the  habit  was  formed  of  writing 
for  the  weekly  papers.  Under  a  pen-name  week 
by  week  a  poem  or  letter  appeared  in  the  local 
county  paper.  And  the  editor  of  the  Roscommon 
and  Leitrim  Gazette  as  well  as  the  Irish  Mes- 
senger soon  found  out  that  a  young  correspond- 
ent was  writing  things  their  readers  were  glad  to 
get.  Under  the  letter  "P"  or  the  signature 
"Autos"  religious  poetry  and  devotional  articles 
found  ready  access  to  the  columns  of  the  local 
papers.  Quite  independently  of  the  venerated 
Dr.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  my  father  discovered 
as  Dr.  Cuyler  did  what  a  source  of  power  the 
weekly  press,  religious  and  secular,  might  be 
made.  And  all  through  his  life  he  plied  his  pen 
freely.  Many  times  in  five  different  places  an 
article  would  appear  from  his  ceaseless  pen  in 
the  same  week.  He  realized  himself  that  many 
of  these  had  only  temporary  value.     Again  and 


82  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

again  he  refused  to  gather  such  writings  into  a 
volume,  declaring  that  like  his  sermons  they  were 
meant  for  the  occasion,  and  the  better  fitted  they 
were  for  the  occasion,  the  less  fitted  were  they 
for  permanent  form.  Of  a  number  of  such 
poems  one  obtained  a  wider  circulation  than  the 
weekly  in  which  it  was  published,  and  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  religious  poetry  more  common 
then,  under  the  inspiration  of  Cowper,  and  many 
lesser  poets  now  forgotten,  than  it  is  to-day.  It 
is  as  follows: 

THE  MIGNONETTE  AND  THE  OAK. 

LINES   INSCRIBED  TO   A   MISSIONARY. 

I  marked  a  child — a  pretty  child 

A  gentle  blue-eyed  thing; 
She  sowed  the  scented  mignonette 

One  sunny  day  in  spring. 
And  as  the  tiny  seed  she  sowed 
The  streams  of  thought,  thus  sweetly  flowed. 

«  On  thy  dear  bed  the  dew  shall  fall, 

And  yon  bright  sun  shall  shine. 
'Twill  grow  and  bloom  and  blossom  then, 

And  it  shall  all  be  mine." 
And  the  fair  thing  laughed  in  childish  glee, 
To  think  what  harvest  hers  would  be. 

I  saw  a  man  an  acorn  plant, 

Upon  the  hillside  bare  ; 
No  spreading  branch,  no  shading  rock 

Send  friendly  shelter  there. 
And  thus  as  o'er  the  acorn  bowed 
I  heard  him — for  he  thought  aloud. 


THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND  83 

"  Frail  thing !  ere  glossy  leaf  shall  grace 

Thy  stem  or  sturdy  bough, 
I  may  be  laid  amid  the  dead 

As  low  as  thou  art  now. 
Yet  shalt  thou  rise  in  rugged  strength 
And  crown  the  barren  heights  at  length." 

Each  had  a  hope — the  childish  heart 

Looked  to  a  summer's  joy. 
The  manly  thought,  strong  and  mature 

Looked  to  futurity. 
Each  trusted  nature's  genial  power. 
He  sought  a  forest,  she  a  flower. 

The  unceasing  activity  and  the  energy  of  the 
young  missionary  had  been  noted,  and  already 
many  who  by  chance  had  heard  him  had  pre- 
dicted a  wider  range  for  his  talents,  but  he  him- 
self was  contented  with  his  work  and  refused  to 
take  any  steps  towards  a  change.  When  then 
it  became  known  that  his  name  was  before  the 
congregation  of  the  First  Church  in  Armagh  he 
took  pains  to  make  it  known  that  this  was  by  no 
act  or  word  of  his.  Then  the  church  asked  him, 
as  was  the  custom,  to  preach  in  turn  with  a  num- 
ber of  others.  This  he  refused  to  do.  When 
asked  however  to  supply  the  pulpit  as  the  only 
one  the  church  thought  of,  he  did  so,  in  no  way 
committing  himself  to  acceptance  of  any  call 
should  it  come.  In  fact  he  wrote  plainly,  "  I  am 
not  weary  of  my  work  as  a  missionary — nor  can 


84  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND 

I  move  in  the  direction  of  leaving  it  unless  the 
Providence  of  God  seemed  as  plain  as  in  leading 
me  hither.  Now  I  could  not  regard  a  place  in  a 
candidate's  list  such  an  indication  of  the  path  of 
duty."  Family  affairs  called  him  to  the  old  home 
in  the  County  Armagh,  hence  it  was  natural  and 
easy  that  he  should  supply  the  pulpit  for  two 
Sabbaths.  This  he  did  with  the  result  that  a 
unanimous  call  was  extended  to  him  to  become 
the  pastor  of  the  church.  The  notice  came  on 
the  sixth  of  January,  1852,  that  the  hearty  desire 
of  the  people  was  expressed  in  the  call,  and  at 
once  steps  were  taken  to  sever  the  relationships 
existing  with  the  presbytery  in  Connaught  to  go 
to  the  new  field  of  labor. 


IV.     THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 


A  NEW  YEAR'S  PRAYER 

BY  REV,  JOHN  HALL,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

O  God,  my  good  desires  fulfill ; 

The  bad  do  Thou  restrain ; 
Reveal  to  me  Thy  holy  will, 

And  make  my  duty  plain. 

Sustain  me  by  Thy  heavenly  grace, 
.    And  keep  me  in  Thy  fear ; 
Help  me  to  run  the  heavenly  race 
With  Jesus  ever  near. 

O  Christ,  my  all-wise  Prophet, 

I  sit  down  at  Thy  feet ; 
Teach  me  to  do  the  Father's  will, 

For  heaven  make  me  meet. 

O  Christ,  my  great  High  Priest, 

Ascended  now  to  heaven, 
On  Thine  atoning  work  I  rest. 

To  Thee  the  praise  be  given, 

O  Christ,  my  glorious  King, 

Thy  law  write  on  my  heart ; 
And  bring  me  to  the  heavenly  home 

Where  we  shall  never  part. 

There  let  me  sing  the  song  of  songs ; 

There  let  my  praise  be  given. 
To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 

The  Trinity  in  heaven. 

For  The  Golden  Rule,  January  2,  1896. 


86 


IV 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

CHURCH  LIFE  IN  ARMAGH.  MARRIAGE.  METHODS  .JIS  ^ 
'PASTOR.  MISSIONARY  WORK.  THE  "  MISSIONARY  HERALD.'' 
FAMILY  CONCERNS.  TEMPERANCE  AGITATION.  n{Eyil^AL 
EXPERIENCES.  'POLITICS  ^ND  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR.  THE 
NEEDS  OF  DUBLIN. 

THE  circumstances  of  the  church  life  in  the 
new  field  were  entirely  different  from  those 
of  the  missionary  activity  in  the  west  of  Ireland. 
The  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Armagh  was 
second  only  perhaps  to  Mary's  Abbey,  Dublin,  in 
the  councils  of  the  Church.  The  personal  influ- 
ence of  Dr.  Cooke  had  made,  indeed,  his  church 
in  Belfast  a  leader  in  all  good  works,  but  the 
Armagh  church  had  a  long  and  honorable  history 
that  gave  it  a  unique  place.  An  able  and  godly 
ministry  had  preceded  the  vacancy  of  1851,  but 
various  reasons  had  made  the  later  years  of  that 
ministry  less  effective  in  the  country  districts, 
dependent  still  upon  the  Church,  than  it  once  had 
been.  The  farmers  of  the  so-called  "town- 
lands"  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making  the  gal- 
lery of  the  church  their  special  place.  This  gal- 
lery had  suffered  sorely  from  the  physical  inabil- 
87 


88       THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

ity  of  the  preceding  ministry.  It  would  seem 
somewhat  a  drain  upon  courage  to  face  the 
problem  of  winning  the  support  of  townlands 
bearing  such  names  as  Aghanore,  Aghavilly, 
Ballinagallia,  Ballyharidan,  Ballymoran,  Claughfin, 
Killyfaddy,  Tullygarnon  and  Torryskean.  More- 
over there  were  fifty-four  of  these  centres  with 
names  in  some  cases  even  more  formidable. 
Beside  these  townlands  there  was  the  town  of 
Armagh  itself,  with  a  population  very  different  in 
some  respects  from  the  townland  congregation. 
For  the  dealing  with  these  two  sections  of  the 
church  life  the  experiences  in  Belfast  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  country  ways  from  boyhood  up  gave  my 
father  a  good  preparation.  His  health  also  had  im- 
proved in  the  west  of  Ireland.  Good  care  had  been 
taken  of  him  there,  particularly  by  a  relative  of  Mrs. 
Irwin.  He  lived  while  there  not  more  than  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  Camlin  at  a  house  called  Granny, 
and  although  working  hard  was  free  from  undue 
anxiety. 

The  settlement  in  Armagh  made  an  early  mar- 
riage possible  and  the  engagement  of  my  father 
to  Mrs.  Emily  Irwin  was  soon  made  known.  A 
little  sketch  of  my  mother  was  furnished,  at  one 
time  to  a  well-known  journal  by  my  father  himself. 
It  was  almost  as  follows:  "Mrs.  Hall  was  born 


MRS.  JOHN  HALL 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH       89 

at  Monkstown  Castle,  County  Dublin,  a  younger 
daughter  of  an  exceptionally  large  family.  Her 
father  was  a  Mr.  Bolton,  who  married  Miss 
Carpenter,  who  died  in  comparatively  early  life. 
Emily,  who  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Hall,  was 
educated  in  Dublin  at  a  school  superintended  by 
an  accomplished  French  lady.  The  Bolton  family 
travelled  a  good  deal  in  France  and  elsewhere, 
and  in  later  years  most  of  the  members  lived  in 
England,  although  still  retaining  homes  and  prop- 
erty in  Ireland.  At  a  very  early  age  Miss  Emily 
Bolton  was  married  to  John  Irwin,  Esq.,  J.  P.,  a 
landed  proprietor  in  the  west  of  Ireland,  and 
settled  at  no  great  distance  from  the  home  of  an 
older  sister  also  married  to  a  landlord  in  the 
neighborhood.  Mr.  Irwin  died  after  a  few  years 
of  happy  married  life,  leaving  his  widow  with 
three  boys,  one  of  them  born  after  his  death. 
Another  sister  of  hers  having  married  a  brother 
of  Mr.  Irwin  and  living  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
in  the  midst  of  a  large  connection  of  relatives, 
Mrs.  Irwin  continued  to  live  in  the  family  home 
which  was  pleasantly  situated  near  the  town  of 
Boyle  in  the  county  of  Roscommon. 

When  the  "famine"  following  what  was 
known  as  the  potato  failure  came,  multitudes  of 
the  poor  peasantry  around  were  starving.     Mrs. 


90       THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

Irwin  and  her  sister-in-law  looked  about  to  give 
some  employment.  Little  could  be  done  for  the 
men,  although  the  land-steward  employed  as 
many  of  them  as  could  be  well  provided  with 
work.  At  that  time,  however,  a  kind  of  em- 
broidery known  as  "sewed  muslin  work"  was 
being  done  largely  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 
Firms  in  Scotland  furnished  for  this  purpose  the 
material  and  payed  for  the  work.  Mrs.  Irwin 
decided  on  trying  to  introduce  this  work.  This 
she  succeeded  in  doing,  and  by  the  aid  of  the 
society  in  Belfast  under  the  guidance  of  Dr. 
Edgar  hundreds  were  in  this  way  saved  and 
given  the  means  of  earning  an  honorable  wage. 

It  was,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  midst  of  this 
activity  that  my  father  met  the  partner  of  forty- 
six  years  of  joy  and  sorrow.  Mrs.  Irwin's  sym- 
pathies were  with  the  extreme  evangelical 
wing  of  the  Established  Church  to  which  she  be- 
longed. Her  loyalty  to  the  Established  Church 
was  much  shaken  however,  by  the  way  in  which 
the  school  work  and  the  effort  of  the  association 
in  Belfast  were  met  by  the  narrower  section  of  the 
High  Churchmen ;  it  was  therefore  an  easy  thing  for 
her  to  throw  in  her  lot  with  the  Presbyterian  faith. 
She  did  it  intelligently  and  heartily,  and  faithfully 
served  its  interests  as  she  conceived  those  interests 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH       91 

to  be  identical  with  God's  kingdom  from  that 
time  on. 

The  wedding  was  a  quiet  one  in  June  15th, 
1852,  at  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kingston 
from  the  house  of  General  Irwin  her  brother,  and 
then  after  a  short  wedding  trip  the  united  life 
began  in  the  Master's  service.  It  was  a  family 
circle  from  the  beginning,  for  not  only  were  the 
three  boys  of  the  first  marriage  in  the  home,  but 
also  the  youngest  brother  James,  little  more  than 
a  lad  at  that  time,  was  still  under  his  brother's 
care.  Even  in  Connaught  he  had  largely  been 
with  his  brother. 

In  Armagh  were  developed  those  powers  as 
pastor  and  preacher  which  made  the  future 
career  so  fruitful.  It  was  the  habit  of  the  little 
Belfast  student  circle,  when  members  of  it  met 
to  say  half-playfully  to  each  other,  ''Now,  preach 
good  sermons!"  More  than  once  my  father  had 
occasion  to  emphasize  the  character  of  the  con- 
gregation, as  one  exceedingly  helpful  and  stimu- 
lating. Many  of  those  living  in  the  city  were 
thoughtful  and  highly  educated  people.  On  this 
account  the  substance  of  the  sermon  had  to  be 
such  as  would  edify  them,  while  the  style  and 
manner  had  to  be  simple  enough  for  the  thought 
to  be  grasped  by  busy  farmers  and  their  tired 


92       THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

wives,  whose  opportunities  for  enlarging  their 
vision  were  limited. 

To  one  member  of  that  congregation  my  father 
felt  himself  deeply  indebted  on  many  accounts. 
He  was  a  physician  of  high  character  and  of  emi- 
nent professional  skill.  He  was  more  over  a  man 
of  culture,  and  old  enough  to  speak  in  a  fatherly 
way  to  the  young  preacher.  Profoundly  attached 
to  his  minister,  his  years  enabled  him  to  give  many 
a  helpful  piece  of  advice.  This  doctor  in  the 
providence  of  God  was  the  means  of  saving  the  life 
of  the  third  boy,  and  in  gratitude  for  this,  and  many 
other  services,  the  present  writer  bears  his  name. 

The  need  of  the  congregation  was  a  closer 
touch  with  the  outlying  regions  dependent  on  the 
Church.  At  once  my  father  began  that  syste- 
matic visiting  which  marked  his  ministerial  life 
throughout.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  announcing 
a  prayer-meeting  in  one  of  these  districts  on  a  cer- 
tain day  and  hour,  having  arranged  with  some 
household  for  the  use  of  their  largest  room.  Then 
he  visited  round  about  all  the  day,  often  taking  his 
supper  at  some  of  the  houses,  spoke  at  the  prayer- 
meeting,  encouraged  the  people  to  attend  regularly 
the  Sunday  services,  and  then  made  his  way  home. 

The  note-books  of  those  days  are  filled  with 
such    entries  as,    "Visit  in   Moneypatrick   and 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH       93 

preach  same  evening  at  house  of  Mr. ,  home 

at  eleven."  These  prayer-meetings  and  extra 
preaching  services  were  at  first  criticised  as 
"Methodist"  and  quite  "  un-Presbyterian,"  but 
the  results  were  soon  seen  in  the  gallery  as  well 
as  on  the  floor  of  the  Church,  and  week  after 
week  the  congregations  grew  steadily  and 
quietly,  but  with  permanent  strength.  In  all  else 
my  father's  methods  were  inclined  to  be  a  little 
unsystematic.  He  had  a  remarkable  memory, 
and  could  afford  to  trust  it  where  others  would 
have  used  some  system.  In  his  visiting,  however, 
from  the  beginning  he  kept  careful  records  and 
worked  with  steady  and  persistent  system. 

In  his  later  years  he  sometimes  remarked  that  the 
difficulty  of  pastoral  visitation  had  changed.  In  the 
Armagh  days  he  needed  tact  and  resource  to  pre- 
vent his  visitation  being  purely  official  ministerial 
and  professional.  In  those  days  it  was  expected 
that  the  children  should  be  questioned,  and  say 
their  catechism,  and  then  the  minister  prayed  with 
the  household.  In  addition  to  this  he  desired  to 
come  as  a  friend,  to  share  the  social  life  and  know 
the  real  needs  of  those  to  whom  he  ministered.  In 
his  later  life  the  difficulty  was  the  other  way.  He 
needed  tact  and  resource  to  give  his  visiting  the  min- 
isterial and  spiritual  significance  he  coveted  for  it. 


94       THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

The  wave  of  religious  life  that  had  swept  over 
England  and  Scotland  reached  Ireland  somewhat 
later,  but  from  time  to  time  the  feeling  arose  of 
new  spiritual  needs  and  of  aroused  spiritual 
hunger.  Such  an  era  followed  the  famine.  The 
attempt  was  made  in  Ireland  to  carry  the  Gospel 
to  all  classes.  In  this  work  the  young  preacher 
took  a  deep  interest,  and  the  correspondence  of 
1853  shows  how  active  a  part  he  took.  Public 
meetings  in  behalf  of  the  South  of  Ireland  were 
held.  These  meetings  were  at  times  stormy.  In 
a  letter  to  his  friend  Matthew  Kerr  dated  August 
17th,  1853,  he  writes:  "The  effect  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  South  (the  political  outrages  be- 
coming more  and  more  common  at  that  time)  on 
our  efforts  in  the  North  is  bad.  We  had  good 
order  in  Armagh  till  last  Friday  night  when  we 
were  regularly  mobbed  here!  This  renders  the 
effort  unsavory  with  our  fashionables;  but  it 
would  never  do  to  give  violence  a  victory,  so  we 
try  it  again  next  Friday."  Later  letters  speak  of 
the  "complete  triumph  of  the  cause"  and  of 
orderly  meetings  in  behalf  of  the  work  in  the 
south  of  Ireland.  The  relative  failure  of  the 
evangelistic  efforts  of  Protestantism  in  Ireland  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  Protestantism  is  identified  in 
the  minds  of  the  common  Roman  Catholic  peo- 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH       95 

pie  with  an  alien  race  and  a  hostile  social  class. 
The  particular  meeting  that  was  mobbed  was  for 
the  Hibernian  Bible  Society  whose  mission  it  was 
to  circulate  the  Bible  in  the  English  tongue  among 
all  classes,  and  to  carry  on  a  work  of  evangeliza- 
tion among  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  vigorous 
and  aggressive  Protestantism  of  the  movement 
was  however  tempered  by  the  kindly  sympathies 
of  those  who  were  chiefly  interested.  Dr.  Edgar 
always  defended  the  Connaught  Roman  Catholics 
even  when  a  lawless  few  were  doing  their  worst 
to  bring  the  whole  countryside  into  discredit. 

In  once  urging  in  public  speech  the  cause  of 
Connaught  Dr.  Edgar  said,  "In  acting  thus 
kindly  towards  the  people  of  Connaught,  you 
will  only  be  imitating  the  great  kindness  which 
the  poorest  among  them  would  show  you  if  you 
were  living  or  travelling  among  them.  In  the 
midst  of  abject  poverty  and  absolute  destitution, 
their  generosity  and  hospitality  are  most  affect- 
ing. They  make  no  inquiry  whether  you  are 
Protestant  or  Roman  Catholic:  it  is  enough  for 
them  that  you  are  a  man  and  a  stranger.  With 
them.  Stranger  is  a  holy  name,  and  whatsoever 
their  house  contains  is  at  your  service." 

Perhaps  also  no  Protestant  in  all  Ireland  was  at 
one  time  more   popular  in  his  way  among  the 


96       THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

Roman  Catholics  than  Matthew  Kerr,  and  my 
father,  with  a  deep-rooted  horror  of  the  errors  as 
he  saw  them  of  Rome,  and  with  a  profound  per- 
suasion that  Protestants  were  ignorant  of  and 
careless  about  the  dangers  of  Romanism,  yet 
sought  to  be  fair  and  generous  in  his  controversy 
with  them,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  fought 
their  battle  when  he  thought  them  being  wronged. 
Hence,  as  generally  happens,  in  such  cases,  he 
was  in  spite  of  his  sturdy  Protestantism  believed 
in  and  greatly  respected  by  his  Roman  Catholic 
fellow-citizens. 

In  pursuance  of  the  missionary  purpose  so  re- 
cently implanted  in  the  reinvigorated  life  of  the 
church  in  Ireland,  literary  matter  was  in  demand. 
Hence  in  1855  my  father  took  charge  of  The 
Children's  Missionary  Herald,  and  carried  it  on 
until  i860,  when  he  gave  it  into  the  hands  of  his 
friend  Matthew  Kerr,  that  he  might  be  free  for 
another  literary  enterprise  along  the  same  but 
larger  lines  in  Dublin.  In  the  October  number, 
in  1858,  was  reprinted,  bad  spelling  and  all,  a  letter 
received  from  one  of  his  Connaught  pupils  who 
had  gone  to  America.  The  writer  of  the  letter, 
a  mere  lad  when  he  left  Ireland,  sent  for  his 
father  and  mother,  and  later  for  his  whole  family. 
The  letter  is  in  part  as  follows:  "I  wonder  if 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH       97 

you  have  forgotten  me.  I  have  been  wishing  to 
hear  or  get  a  few  hnes  from  you.  You  are  as 
fresh  upon  my  mind  as  when  I  left  Camhn.  O 
the  kindness  you  bestowed  on  me — the  pains  you 
took  in  instructing  me,  when  I  was  young  and 
inexperienced.  If  I  was  to  see  you  face  to  face, 
I  would  be  able  to  tell  you  how  thankful  I  am  to 
you.  It  is  often  when  I  am  wandring  through 
this  wilderness  of  a  country  I  pray  that  the  bless- 
ing of  God  might  be  with  you,  and  if  it  please 
God  that  I  might  see  you  here  on  earth,  I  will  be 
able  to  tell  you  how  happy  1  sometimes  feel,  and 
may  the  Lord  grant  that  we  may  well  prepare  for 
that  hour  which  no  man  knoweth  save  Him 
above.  My  dear  friend,  though  the  rowling  seas 
are  between  us,  do  remember  me  and  pray  for 
me.  ...  In  reguard  to  our  living,  we  have  as 
good  a  living  hear  as  the  richest  man  in  that 
country.  ...  I  kept  your  last  letter  in  my 
pocket  till  it  crumbled  away.  If  1  mistake  not 
you  asked  me  what  church  1  belong  to,  I  atach 

myself  to  the  Methodest  Church  in ,  but  I 

have  a  great  liking  for  all  Christian  people." 
Some  twelve  years  later  my  father  did  visit  in  the 
west  of  America  the  prosperous  and  well-to-do 
man,  whom  he  had  taught  as  a  poor  half-starved 
cowherd  in  the  wilds  of  Connaught. 


98       THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

In  Armagh  were  born  all  the  children  save  one 
daughter,  born  in  Dublin,  and  besides  the  respon- 
sibility of  his  own  family  there  fell  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  eldest  son  the  additional  burden 
of  his  younger  brothers  and  sisters.  Cheerfully 
and  lovingly  all  his  life  he  was,  as  his  youngest 
sister  testified,  more  of  a  father  than  a  brother  to 
them  all. 

Very  early  the  parents  in  dedicating  their  eldest 
son  to  the  ministry  had  desired  that  he  should  go 
as  a  foreign  missionary,  when  the  failing  health 
of  the  father  made  it  apparent  that  the  eldest  son 
would  have  more  than  usual  responsibility. 
William  Hall  had  said,  "  we  cannot  spare  John, 
he  must  take  my  place,"  and  this  with  loving 
fidelity  and  extraordinary  wisdom  for  so  young  a 
head  the  eldest  son  did  even  in  school  and  col- 
lege days. 

In  Armagh  he  had  the  advantage  of  being 
nearer  to  the  old  home  where  his  mother  and 
brothers  and  sisters  were,  an  advantage  not  to  be 
despised  in  the  days  of  slow  and  imperfect  com- 
munication. The  journey  to  the  General  As- 
sembly was  in  those  days  a  solemn  undertaking, 
and  one  who  had  been  to  England  was  a  far- 
travelled  man. 

What  widened  considerably  however  the  ho- 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH       99 

rizon  in  evangelical  circles  was  the  missionary 
literature,  with  maps  of  far-ofif  lands,  and  accounts 
of  strange  races  and  foreign  ways..  It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  how  much  England's  col- 
onies owe  to  the  missionary  literature  and  mis- 
sionary efforts  that  awakened  a  curiosity  in  the 
mifids  of  many  young  adventurers  whose  aims 
in  travelling  were  not  always  the  same  as  the 
missionaries  who  first  gave  the  impulse  to 
journey  forth  from  the  native  place. 

In  another  direction  my  father's  energies  were 
thrown  at  this  time.  Even  in  college  he  had  be- 
longed to  a  temperance  circle,  and  now  he  flung 
his  influence  against  one  of  the  curses  of  Irish 
society,  the  excessive  drinking  of  intoxicating 
spirits.  Some  of  the  best  temperance  tracts  of 
that  date  are  from  his  pen,  and  one  or  two  had 
an  enormous  circulation.  This  movement  was 
not  popular.  Many  of  the  wealthiest  Presbyte- 
rians made  money  in  the  traffic.  There  was  no 
sentiment  against  the  trade,  and  the  conservative 
elements  saw  in  the  position  taken  a  reflection 
upon  the  generation  that  had  harmlessly  indulged 
in  the  social  glass.  In  spite  of  the  offense  he  of 
necessity  gave,  my  father  continued  steadily  in 
season  and  out  of  season  to  urge  temperance.  A 
constant  entry  in  his  day-book  is,  "spoke  at  a 


100     THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

temperance  meeting  in  the  township  A.,"  or 
"urged  temperance  at  the  church  of  .  .  .  ," 
and  one  time  he  notes  the  fact  "exceeded  the 
due  limits  of  an  address  by  speaking  an  hour 
and  three-quarters  on  temperance."  In  after 
days  he  sometimes  lamented  the  political  temper- 
ance movement,  and  felt,  as  I  understand  Dr. 
Theodore  L.  Cuyler  also  feels,  that  the  original 
temperance  movement  has  been  injured  by  the 
identification  of  it  v^ith  political  prohibition. 

In  the  autumn  of  1 859  my  father  took  part  in  a  re- 
markable religious  movement  that  was  connected 
with  the  north  of  Ireland  specially.  The  religious 
awakening  excited  attention,  and  after  it  had 
gone  on  for  some  little  time  abuses  began  to  be 
manifest.  Against  these  my  father  and  others 
raised  their  voices,  as  was  fitting,  seeing  that 
they  had  had  much  to  do  with  the  situation. 
Yet  many  things  took  place  which  greatly  dis- 
turbed him.  Never  again  could  he  hail  with  the 
same  zeal  movements  connected  with  excite- 
ment, which  he  recognized  distinctly  as  physical. 
Indeed,  I  think,  he  was  perhaps  almost  unduly 
prejudiced  by  the  experiences  of  that  year  against 
similar  movements  later  on.  He  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  Armagh  Guardian,  which  is  especially 
interesting,  because  it  so  exactly  reflects  his  feel- 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH      loi 

ings  all  through  his  life.     The  letter  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

Armagh, 
2ist  September,  i8jg. 
Dear   Sir,— In  the  present   deeply  interesting  state  of    a 
portion  of  the  people  of  Armagh,  may  I  venture  to  suggest  to 
reflecting  persons  a  few  things  that  require  to  be  considered  ? 

1.  When  tourists,  clerical  or  otherwise,  come  to  the  place, 
will  it  be  wise  to  exhibit  to  them  persons  believed  to  have  been 
visited  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  In  the  nature  of  things  this  can 
only  be  done  with  those  most  likely  to  suft'er,  either  by  being 
tempted  to  self-complacency,  or  as  has  occurred  elsewhere,  to 
making  a  gain  of  godliness  ?  Should  not  intelligent  persons  be 
satisfied  with  their  observations  at  meetings,  and  with  the  in- 
formation afforded  them  ?  Who  would  covet  a  gratification  at 
the  risk  of  doing  mischief  in  such  a  case  ? 

2.  Should  young  persons  be  put  forward  to  speak  in  public, 
because  recently  converted  ?  what  principle  is  in  the  apostolic 
words  ( I  Tim.  3:6)  "  not  a  novice,  lest  being  lifted  up  with 
pride,  he  fall  into,  etc.  "  ?  Would  it  not  be  much  better  to  give 
sound  scriptural  instruction  to  these  deeply  interesting  young 
persons  ? 

3.  Should  any  attention  be  given  to  dreams,  trances,  etc,  if 
they  appear  here  ?  Should  they  not  be  treated  as  trifles  to  say 
the  least  of  them,  as  compared  with  the  real  work  of  God's 
Spirit  ? 

4.  Should  young  people  be  encouraged  to  protracted  meet- 
ings especially  where  no  minister  is  presiding  ?  Or  would  it 
not  be  better  to  have  meetings  shorter  and  earlier,  and  if  neces- 
sary to  close  business  places  earlier  to  give  facility  to  attend  ? 
Will  not  employers  gain  by  any  really  good  influence  on  the 
employed  ? 

5.  Can  much  good  be  expected  from  mass  meetings  and  ex- 
cursion trains  ?  Would  not  the  temptation  to  mere  ephemeral 
excitement  be  more  likely  to  abound  on  such  occasions  than  in 
the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  ordinary  means  of  grace  ?     Should 


102     THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

any  individual  be  encouraged  to  collect  professedly  religious 
meetings,  for  the  order  and  decorum  of  which  no  one  is  respon- 
sible, while  the  character  of  a  religious  movement  may  be  im- 
perilled thereby  ? 

Reflecting  people,  by  forming  and  expressing  matured 
opinions  on  these  and  similar  topics,  may  discourage  and  put 
down  many  things,  over  which  Christians  mourn  as  unhappily 
attaching  themselves  to  a  real  and  undoubted  work  of  God.  A 
deep  interest  in  the  Lord's  work  in  Armagh  induces  me  to 
submit  the  above  questions  to  readers  of  your  paper,  to  whose 
minds  they  may  not  otherwise  have  been  carried. — Believe  me, 
faithfully  yours,  J.  H. 

With  a  growing  family  and  a  good  many 
cares,  with  an  ever-increasing  weight  of  responsi- 
bility in  ecclesiastical  matters,  and  a  great  deal 
of  hard  drudging  work,  my  father  yet  always 
looked  back  to  the  days  spent  in  Armagh  as 
among  the  most  profitable  and  happiest  of  his 
ministry. 

In  the  meantime  the  fame  as  a  preacher  of  the 
young  Armagh  minister  was  spreading.  In 
August,  1856,  he  had  made  a  short  trip  to  Scot- 
land and  preached  for  an  acquaintance  in  Glas- 
gow. He  had  hardly  returned  to  Ireland  before 
overtures  were  made  to  him  looking  towards  his 
removal  to  Scotland.  But  in  spite  of  the  attract- 
ive nature  of  several  such  overtures  then,  as  also 
later  in  his  career,  he  felt  that  Scotland  was  well 
provided  for,  and  that  his  duty  lay  elsewhere. 

In  spite  of  the  heavy  duties  of  the  Armagh 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH      103 

pastorate  outside  interests  were  not  neglected. 
Nearly  every  season  a  tour  was  made  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution  of 
Ulster.  The  Hibernian  Bible  Society  had  also  a 
claim  on  his  time,  and  he  was  frequently  called 
upon  to  plead  its  claims  elsewhere  than  in  his 
own  church.  To  the  militia  of  Armagh  he  also 
acted  as  chaplain,  and  a  list  of  the  Protestants 
was  carefully  kept  by  him,  and  they  were  visited 
as  regularly  as  his  parishioners. 

The  prayers  of  the  years  1855  to  1857  abound 
with  references  to  England's  sacrifices  in  the 
Crimea  and  the  Indian  Mutiny.  In  those  days 
it  was  my  father's  habit  to  write  prayers  which 
either  opened  or  closed  the  sermon,  and  several 
longer  prayers  exist  which  he  had  written  out  in 
full.  In  these  the  soldiers  fighting  under  distant 
skies  were  specially  remembered,  for  the  eldest 
stepson  had  gone  as  a  young  officer  to  learn  the 
art  of  war.  This  step  was  taken  just  in  time  to 
see  the  closing  scenes  of  the  Indian  Mutiny 
1857-1858,  and  as  a  mother's  heart  followed  the 
news  of  England's  struggle,  earnest  prayers  for 
the  soldier's  safety  were  mingled  with  the  thanks- 
givings over  tidings  of  success.  Then  as  always 
Irish  blood  was  flowing  freely  for  the  exten- 
sion  and   preservation  of  the  Empire,  and  the 


104     THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

North  contributed  her  share  to  the  armies  sent 
abroad. 

It  was  characteristic  then  as  throughout  the  life 
of  my  father  that  he  was  not  strongly  biassed 
politically.  Naturally  belonging  to  the  liberal 
party,  he  yet  took  no  active  part  in  the  political 
turmoil  of  those  days,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  nearly  all  ministers  of  influence  were  then 
more  or  less  inclined  to  political  activity.  Dr. 
Cooke  had  been  as  successful  as  a  politician  as  he 
had  been  as  a  preacher,  and  many  undertook  to 
imitate  his  political  methods  without  his  judg- 
ment or  his  ability.  Along  this  line  my  father 
never  seems  to  have  been  tempted.  Neither  at 
this  time  nor  later  in  life  did  he  closely  identify 
himself  with  any  political  party,  and  although 
great  national  interests,  such  as  national  educa- 
tion, temperance  reform,  industrial  education 
called  out  his  best  energies,  yet  it  was  always 
distinctly  as  a  non-partisan  liberal. 

Particularly  did  he  see  in  the  advance  of  Pres- 
byterianism  the  highest  good  of  Ireland.  Almost 
anxiously  does  he  canvass  the  situation  in  the 
correspondence  of  1857  and  1858.  The  reason  of 
this  anxiety  was  not  far  to  seek.  The  splendid 
religious  impulse  that  had  given  the  Irish  Presby- 
terian Church  some  of  her  best  leaders  was  in 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH      105 

danger  apparently  of  giving  way  to  a  satisfied  re- 
action. Tile  older  men  were  either  passing 
away,  or  were  no  longer  in  touch  with  new 
wants  constantly  arising  on  the  horizon.  The 
conditions,  also,  in  Ireland  had  materially  changed. 
The  loss  of  upwards  of  two  millions  of  her  pop- 
ulation between  1846  and  1856  had  made  Ireland 
in  many  respects  a  different  country.  The  North 
actually  prospered  under  the  changed  conditions, 
for  famine  hardly  touched  her,  and  her  shipping 
trade  and  cattle  export  were  greatly  improved. 
At  the  same  time  the  changed  conditions  affected 
unfavorably— at  least  such  was  the  judgment  of 
many  at  the  time— the  higher  interests.  Particu- 
larly in  Dublin  did  the  leading  men  feel  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  situation.  The  correspondence 
between  Dr.  Hamilton  Magee  and  his  friends 
disclose  some  of  the  difficulties  under  which  the 
religious  work  of  the  Church  was  done.  At  this 
time  the  leading  Presbyterian  Church  in  Dublin 
was  called  Scotts  church,  Mary's  Abbey.  Dr. 
William  B.  Kirkpatrick  was  the  honored  and 
scholarly  minister.  He  however  felt,  together 
with  others,  that  his  strength  was  not  equal  to 
the  holding  of  the  congregation,  and  at  the  same 
time  doing  the  work  expected  of  the  minister  of 
such  a  church  outside. 


io6     THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH 

Dr.  Kirkpatrick  was  a  student  rather  than  a 
man  of  affairs  and  under  these  circumstances  he 
and  the  congregation  began  to  look  about  for  one 
who  should  become  with  him  a  fellow-minister 
in  the  work  of  the  Church. 

The  choice  fell  at  once  upon  the  Armagh  min- 
ister. Yet  the  grave  question  arose  how  any 
change  could  be  made  to  seem  right  under  the 
existing  conditions.  Financially  such  a  charge 
in  Dublin  had  no  attractions,  as  the  First  Armagh 
was  abundantly  able  and  willing  to  provide  faith- 
fully for  its  minister,  and  a  divided  responsibility 
can  never  seem  as  hopeful  as  where  one  is  in  the 
definite  leadership.  The  situation  was  such 
however  that  the  call  was  extended,  and  great  m- 
fluence  was  brought  to  bear  upon  my  father  to 
cause  him  to  go  to  Dublin  for  the  sake  of  the 
Church  at  large.  The  leaders  in  Belfast  also  took 
this  view  of  the  case,  and  gave  their  help  in  per- 
suading the  Church  at  Armagh  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  change. 

It  was  in  many  ways  a  sore  trial  to  the  whole 
family.  Armagh  had  become  dear  to  both  hus- 
band and  wife  as  the  birthplace  of  their  children. 
The  old  manse  was  a  real  home  ;  no  kinder  peo- 
ple did  they  ever  know  than  the  Armagh  friends 
of  my  parent's  first  ministry  ;  and  in  some  ways 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  ARMAGH     107 

it  was  even  a  pecuniary  sacrifice  to  accept  the 
place.  At  the  same  time  my  father  felt  that  the 
united  judgments  of  so  many  demanded  from 
him  an  affirmative  decision,  and  with  heavy  heart 
he  said  at  last,  "  Yes  "  to  the  invitation  to  go  to 
Mary's  Abbey.  The  birth  of  the  youngest  son  in 
September,  1858,  made  the  removal  of  the  family 
only  possible  in  October,  but  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore that  definite  leave  was  taken  of  the  kind  and 
prosperous  congregation  who  felt  sorely  the  loss 
of  one  they  had  come  to  tenderly  love.  The 
future  relationships  between  the  Church  and  the 
former  pastor  remained  ever  most  tender,  and 
it  was  always  with  warm  enthusiasm  that  the 
congregation  was  spoken  of  in  the  family  circle. 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  MARY'S  ABBEY- 
DUBLIN 


THE  LORD'S  PRAYER 

Father !  who  hast  in  heaven  Thy  seat, 
All  hallow'd  be  Thy  name  so  great ! 
Soon  may  Thy  peaceful  kingdom  come  ! 
Thy  will  on  all  the  earth  be  done, 
In  cheerfulness  and  holy  love 
As  angels  serve  in  heaven  above. 
Bestow  upon  us  what  is  good, 
And  grant  each  day  our  daily  food. 
As  we  forgive  them  who  have  sinned 
May  we  ourselves  forgiveness  find. 
Rough  trials'  paths  let  us  not  tread, 
And  from  all  evil  shield  our  head. 
For  kingdom,  power  and  praise  to  Thee 
Belong  to  all  eternity. 
July,  1847.  J-  H.  (Signed)  "AuTOS." 


V 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN 

MARY'S  ^BBEY.  IRISH  EDUCATION.  NATIONAL  SCHOOLS. 
THE  QUEEN'S  COMMISSIONERSHIP.  THE  RUTLAND  SQUARE 
CHURCH.  VACATIONS.  THE  ''EVANGELICAL  WITNESS." 
DISESTABLISHMENT  tAND  THE  MODERATORSHIP.  DELEGATE 
TO  .AMERICA. 

THE  call  of  the  congregation  of  Mary's  Abbey 
is  dated  the  28th  of  June,  1858,  and  the 
arrangement  included  a  division  of  the  preaching 
labors  between  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  and  the  new  as- 
sociate minister.  The  pastoral  and  other  work 
was  to  be  divided  as  best  suited  both  ministers, 
and  the  division  of  labor  aimed  at  giving  both 
incumbents  time  for  work  outside  the  immediate 
church,  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  being  engaged  in  literary 
and  particularly  apologetic  and  polemic  theology, 
while  the  younger  strength  was  engaged  in  out- 
side work  with  reference  to  the  Church  as  a 
whole.  No  formal  arrangement  was  made.  The 
call  was  extended  as  the  usual  call  to  a  minister 
from  the  congregation,  no  reference  being  even 
made  to  the  relations  to  Dr.  Kirkpatrick.  In 
spite  of  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  two  men, 
whose  warm  friendship  lasted  through  the  life- 


112  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

time  of  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  the  arrangement  had 
many  disadvantages,  and  did  not  work  well. 
With  men  less  absorbed  in  the  great  interests  in- 
volved, and  in  even  slight  degree  thinking  of 
themselves  the  plan  would  not  have  worked  at 
all.  Scholarly,  thoughtful  and  refined  as  were 
the  sermons  of  the  older  preacher,  they  lacked 
the  popular  clearness,  and  the  warmth  that  made 
the  younger  man's  ministrations  acceptable  to  a 
much  larger  number.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  rejoiced 
in  the  success  of  the  new  voice,  but  it  was  not 
in  his  power  to  prevent  unkind  things  being  said 
by  mischief-makers  who  would  have  gladly  seen 
trouble  between  the  two  friends.  The  personal 
relations  were  however  too  sincere  and  too 
genuine  to  be  thus  disturbed.  On  Saturday 
nights  they  met  together  for  prayer  and  study,  and 
many  times  my  father  has  spoken  to  me  gratefully 
of  the  spiritual  and  intellectual  stimulus  gained 
in  those  meetings  together.  At  the  same  time  the 
experiment  was  one  he  never  desired  to  try  again. 
Mary's  Abbey  filled  up  rapidly,  and  in  spite  of 
a  location  altogether  unfavorable,  and  a  building 
far  from  meeting  the  needs  of  the  congregation, 
the  prosperity  was  apparent  and  real.  In  Dublin 
the  same  restless  energy  and  power  of  unceasing 
work  was  displayed  that  had  marked  the  pastorate 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  113 

in  Armagh.     As   chaplain  to  Mountjoy  Female 
Prison  a  great  variety  of  human  wants  and  woes 
had  to  be  met  and  mastered.     The  weeks  were 
few  in  which  some  article,  tract  or  open  letter 
did    not    appear.     The    Children's    Missionary 
Herald  was  given  up  in  i860,  but  only  to  make 
possible  the  editing  of  the  Evangelical  IVitness, 
a  monthly  religious  paper  started  shortly  after, 
and  which  my  father  continued  to  edit  until  he 
left   Dublin.     To  the  outside  activities  of   the 
church  he  devoted  now  a  great  deal  of  time. 
The  evangelization  of  the  West  lay  on  his  heart; 
the  institutions  for  the  orphans  and  the  deaf  and 
blind  needed  sermons  and  addresses  to  which  he 
devoted  much  labor  going  from  place  to  place 
until  his  voice  and  tall  figure  crowned  by  deep 
black  hair  was  familiar  in  every  little  town  in  the 
north  and  middle  west  of  Ireland,  and  his  name  was 
now  known  to  Protestants  all  over  the  country. 

He  was  especially  now  sought  as  a  temperance 
advocate.  It  was  at  that  time  neither  usual  nor 
popular  for  all  clergymen  to  be  pronouncedly  on 
the  side  of  temperance.  Many  a  kindly  warning 
did  my  father  receive  of  the  "injudicious  "  tem- 
perance agitation  to  which  he  was  addicted. 
This  was  more  especially  the  case  because  pow- 
erful Presbyterian  interests  were  directly  or  in- 


114  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

directly  engaged  in  the  traffic.  To  the  great 
credit  of  those  interests  be  it  said  that  in  no 
quarters  were  my  father's  outspoken  statements 
of  his  convictions  more  generously  received. 
Those  whom  timid  counsellors  feared  he  would 
offend,  admired  him  for  his  courage  and  faithful- 
ness, even  where  they  were  not  convinced  by  his 
arguments  or  won  by  his  persuasions,  and  be- 
came his  lifelong  friends. 

Among  the  many  open  questions  in  Ireland 
remains  still  that  of  education.  The  difficulty  is 
one  of  ideals.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  cannot 
be  content  with  anything  less  than  full  control, 
and  this  means,  in  the  experience  of  the  Protes- 
tant elements  a  dangerous  popular  ignorance.  At 
the  same  time  the  Protestants  are  themselves  di- 
vided. The  Episcopal  Church  has  an  educational 
ideal  not  shared  by  the  Presbyterians.  The  ques- 
tions at  issue  were  even  more  sharply  debated 
before  the  disestablishment  of  the  Church  in  Ire- 
land in  1869-1871.^  It  was  as  early  as  1831  that 
as  a  result  of  the  work  of  an  educational  inquiry  a 
Board  of  National  Education  was  established, 
with  commissioners  from  various  faiths.* 

^  The  bill  was  passed  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  26th  of  July,  and 
took  effect  on  Jan.  ist,  187 1. 

'The  first  religious  census  in  Ireland  was  taken  in  1834,  and 
according  to  it  the  population  was  divided  as  follows  : 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  115 

The  Board  was  at  once  furiously  attacked  by 
the  Orange  and  extreme  Episcopahan  (Church  of 
Ireland)  interests.  This  was  a  most  happy  prov- 
idence, for  this  fact  drew  temporarily  to  the 
Board's  aid  the  Roman  Catholic  sympathy.  In 
accordance  with  directions  from  the  government 
the  education  was  to  be  wholly  non-sectarian, 

The  Established  Church     .     .     .  852,064 

Roman  Catholics 6,427,712 

Presbyterians 642,356 

Other  Protestant  Dissenters    .     .  21,808 

7.943.940 

This  census  was  probably  grossly  inaccurate.  Dr.  Killen  im- 
pugns it  in  Reid's  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  mis- 
representing the  proportions  (cf.  vol.  Ill,  page  499,  Ed.  1853). 
But  in  the  writer's  opinion,  it  also  grossly  exaggerates  the  total 
population,  and  is  untrustworthy  as  giving  data  for  computation  of 
the  number  in  Ireland.  In  187 1  an  accurate  census  was  taken 
with  the  following  results  : 

Episcopalians 683,295 

Presbyterians 503,461 

Methodists 41  8ic 

Independents 4481; 

Baptists 4^643 

Society  of  Friends ^,834 

Roman  Catholics 4,141,933 

Thus  Protestantism  had  in  187 1,  1,260,568  and  Roman  Cathol- 
icism about  four  times  that  number.  Of  course  famine  and 
emigration  weakened  both  Protestantism  and  Roman  Catholi- 
cism, but  Roman  Catholicism  suffered  far  more  than  Protestant- 
ism. 


ii6  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

the  reading  of  the  Scripture  was  not  to  be  enforced 
on  unwilling  children,  but  in  accordance  with  the 
wishes  of  parents,  religious  teachers  of  various 
faiths  were  to  have  opportunity  given  them  for 
the  instruction  in  religion  as  favored  by  the 
parents. 

As  up  to  this  time  Episcopal  parish  ministers 
had  had  a  most  offensive  power  of  interference 
with  schools,  established  and  maintained  by 
private  means  in  large  part,  and  wholly  attended 
by  those  of  another  faith,  the  extreme  party  in 
the  Church  resented  fiercely  the  establishment  of 
the  Commission.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  beginning 
of  the  end.  Step  by  step  the  power  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church  was  curtailed  until  at  last  dis- 
establishment was  an  accomplished  fact.  One  of 
the  first  commissioners  appointed  had  been  the 
scholarly  and  able  minister  of  Mary's  Abbey, 
Dublin,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carlile.  He  was  both 
popular  and  extremely  orthodox,  as  that  term  was 
then  used,  yet  he  was  very  nearly  subjected  to 
churchly  discipline  for  accepting  the  position. 
Only  the  fact  of  his  very  influential  position,  and 
that  there  were  hopes — afterwards  realized — that 
he  would  succeed  in  changing  the  plan  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  saved  his  ecclesiastical  life. 
For,   alas,   many  Presbyterians  were  completely 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  117 

blind  to  the  great  step  in  advance  such  national 
education  really  was.  For  them  the  cry  "God- 
less" and  "irreligious"  education  had  far  too 
much  weight. 

The  attitude  of  Dr.  H.  Cooke— the  "Cock  of 
the  North "  was  also  a  serious  embarrassment. 
Dr.  Cooke  was  a  Conservative  by  birth,  educa- 
tion and  instinct.  The  existing  state  of  things 
was  for  him  d  priori  the  right  state  of  things. 
His  policy  had  been  to  work  with  the  Established 
Church,  and  he  had  been  a  good  deal  petted  by 
the  Tory  and  High  Church  elements.  To  him 
Trinity  College,  Dublin  had  given  a  degree,  an 
almost  revolutionary  action  in  those  days.  He 
supported  always  the  candidates  set  up  by  the 
Tory  and  landlord  interests,  so  that  Presbyterian 
and  Liberal  representation  was  at  that  time  im- 
possible. Dr.  Cooke  opposed  disestablishment, 
and  actually  in  1868  the  Presbyterian  Church  ex- 
pressed modified  disapproval  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
bill.  He  did  not  like  the  growing  liberal  party  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  saw  in  National 
Board  Schools  a  menace  to  the  distinctively  relig- 
ious education  which  was  his  ideal.  In  1839 
there  was,  it  is  true,  a  compromise  made  between 
the  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  the 
Government  Board,  but  friction  was  not  wholly 


ii8  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

overcome.  The  difficulties  of  national  educa- 
tion were  then  enormously  increased  when 
after  1848  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  reversed 
its  policy  and  denounced  in  unmeasured  terms 
the  whole  scheme. 

In  1 84 1  two  Synods  of  the  Presbyterian  faith 
came  together,  and  formed  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland.  From  that 
time  on  Presbyterian  Liberalism  began  to  work 
itself  free  from  the  leadership  of  Tory  Protestant- 
ism. Yet  the  change  was  a  gradual  one.  This 
was  in  part  in  deference  to  Dr.  Cooke.  The 
struggle  over  national  education  was  still  going 
on  in  1858  when  my  father  went  to  Dublin.  As 
has  been  remarked  he  was  no  politician,  yet  he 
was  a  Liberal,  and  a  rather  pronounced  Liberal  on 
the  education  question.  The  older  men  looked 
to  the  coming  younger  man  with  much  of  hope. 
The  stalwart  and  evangelical  orthodoxy  of  the 
new  voice  that  was  being  heard  over  all  Ireland 
greatly  encouraged  those  who  dreaded  the  dead- 
ness  of  a  past  era.  Unfortunately  however  the 
older  orthodoxy  was  lukewarm  in  the  matter  of 
national  education  and  was  inclined  to  join  hands 
with  Tory  and  Orange  extremes  in  opposition. 
The  experience  in  the  west  of  Ireland  had  greatly 
interested  my  father  in  education.     He  saw  in  it 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  119 

the  one  hope  of  the  population.  He  did  not 
underrate  religious  education,  but  he  did  not  see 
how  there  could  by  any  chance  be  "an  Episco- 
palian spelling,"  and  a  "Presbyterian  table  of 
multiplication."  He  flung  himself  boldly  on  the 
side  of  national  unsectarian  education.  Then 
when  in  i860,  in  accordance  with  the  express 
wish  of  the  Presbyterian  church  for  a  third  Pres- 
byterian commissioner  the  place  was  offered  to 
my  father;  he  at  once  accepted,  and  became 
queen's  commissioner  of  national  education.  The 
letter  asking  my  father  to  join  the  board  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Irish  Office, 
ig  Nov.  i860. 
Dear  Sir: 

When  a  deputation  of  the  Presbyterian  church  did  me 
the  honor  to  call  upon  me  on  the  subject  of  the  addition,  which 
it  was  proposed  to  make,  to  the  board  of  education,  one  of  the 
principal  objects  which  they  had  in  view  was  to  obtain  the  ad- 
dition of  a  third  Presbyterian  commissioner. 

The  Lord  Lieutenant  authorizes  me  to  acquaint  you,  in  his 
name  as  well  as  in  my  own,  that  the  government  are  disposed 
to  accede  to  their  request  and  I  beg  to  propose  to  you  to  join 
the  board,  and  give  to  it  the  sanction  of  your  name  and  your 
attention, 

I  remain,  dear  sir, 

faithfully  yours 
Rev.  John  Hall.  Edward  Caldwell. 

For  this  step  some  who  never  openly  attacked 
him   never    really   forgave   him.      Moreover  his 


120  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

vigorous  defense  of  his  position  savored  far  too 
much  of  advanced  radical  views  to  suit  those 
who  were  still  in  the  armor  put  on  for  past 
conflicts.  Particularly  offensive  to  some  was  a 
"Very  Short  Catechism  for  Such  as  be  of 
Weaker  Capacity"  which  my  father  wrote  at 
this  time.     It  is  as  follows: 

A  VERY  SHORT  CATECHISM  FOR 

SUCH   AS   BE   OF  WEAKER   CAPACITY. 

A.  Is  it  true  that  the  Bible  is  shut  out  of  the 
Irish  National  Schools  ? 

B.  No.  It  is  in  every  school,  where  the  man- 
agers wish  it,  and  is  read  in  many  hundreds  of 
them. 

A.  But  that  is  before  or  after  school  hours 
when  of  course  no  child  would  be  silly  enough 
to  come  ? 

B.  Well  you  may  try  the  thing  by  experi- 
ment, and  in  the  Belfast  Model  School,  e.  g.,  or 
the  Dublin  Model  School  you  can  examine  a  class 
and  compare  the  answering  with  that  of  any 
public  Protestant  school  for  the  sons  of  the 
gentry,  and  you  will  find  the  Model  School  class 
the  better  taught  of  the  two,  which  could  hardly 
be  the  case  if  the  children  did  not  come. 

A.     Still  it  is  not  in  school  hours  ? 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  121 

B.     What  do  you  call  school  hours  ? 

A.  Well  from  10  a.  m.  until  3  p.  m.  we  com- 
monly call  school  hours. 

B.  Just  so.  Then  if  you  manage  a  school  and 
fix  the  hours  from  ten  to  eleven  for  Scripture 
reading,  would  you  say  the  Scriptures  are  not 
used  in  school  hours  ? 

A.  Certainly  not.  I  should  be  setting  apart 
that  portion  of  the  school  hours  for  Scripture,  as 
I  should  set  apart  the  next  hour  for  spelling,  or 
writing. 

B.  Which  is  exactly  the  course  pursued  in  the 
national  schools.  You  have  only  to  define  be- 
forehand the  time  you  mean  to  employ  in  this 
way,  and  all  the  board  requires  is  that  there  be 
adequate  time  for  secular  instruction. 

A.  But  Mr.  Whiteside  and  others  tell  us  every 
year  that  the  Bible  is  shut  out  during  school 
hours.     Is  not  that  very  odd  ? 

B.  Very. 

A.  How  do  you  account  for  it  ? 

B.  Did  I.  promise  to  account  for  it  ?  I  do  not 
attempt  it. 

A.  But  they  must  have  some  show  of  argu- 
ment for  this  assertion  > 

B.  Suppose  I  order  that  geography  shall  be 
taught  in  my  school  from  two  till  three  only,  would 


122  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

it  be  fair  or  true  to  say  it  is  not  taught  in  school 
hours  ? 

A.  Surely  not. 

B.  Well  suppose  in  most  schools  the  parents 
did  not  wish  mathematics  to  be  learned  by  their 
children,  would  it  be  fair  to  say  that  the  board 
excludes  mathematics  ? 

A.  No.  It  is  the  parents  who  effect  the  ex- 
clusion. They  have  only  to  ask  for  them  I  sup- 
pose, and  the  board  will  give  every  facility  for 
their  gratification. 

B.  Quite  so.    And  just  so  with  the  Scriptures. 

A.  But  it  is  very  wrong  of  parents  not  to  ask 
for  the  Scriptures. 

B.  Of  course  it  is.  What  shall  we  do  with 
them  then  ?  Tell  them  they  cannot  have  read- 
ing, writing  and  arithmetic,  without  taking  the 
Bible  too  ? 

A.  No,  not  exactly  that.  It  would  be  too  like 
Spain  which  won't  give  men  civil  rights,  or  even 
sepulchral  honors,  unless  he  will  take  the  Catho- 
lic religion. 

B.  Exactly,  and  we  have  got  past  that,  at  least 
since  1829.  We  shall  never  come  to  offer  men 
gas,  water,  police-protection,  civil  employment, 
education  scholastic  or  collegiate,  on  the  inevita- 
ble condition   of    their  accepting  our  religious 


DR.  JOHN  HALL  AT  THE  AGE  OF  THIRTY 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  123 

books  and  teaching.  In  accordance  with  the 
genius  of  the  free  Protestantism  of  these  kingdoms 
we  have  ceased  to  manufacture  hypocrites  and 
infidels  in  this  fashion.  Then  what  would  you 
do? 

A.  I  would  leave  the  people  free  to  read  the 
Bible. 

B.  A  very  unassailable  truism  that.  What  do 
you  mean  by  "  free  "  ?  Do  you  mean  you  would 
put  Bibles  in  every  school,  if  the  children  liked 
to  have  them  without  reference  to  the  parents' 
wishes  ?  Then  you  would  say  to  the  promoters 
of  a  school,  Gentlemen  we  give  you  a  grant  of 
books  and  salary,  on  condition  this  shelf  of 
Bibles  is  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  school  for 
every  child  that  likes.     Would  you  do  that  ? 

A.  That  is  not  exactly  what  I  mean. 

B.  I  should  think  not.  Try  the  converse  of 
it,  and  imagine  the  Roman  Catholic  Emperor  of 
France  giving  aid  to  Protestant  schools,  only  on 
condition  that  each  school  have  a  supply  of 
Roman  Catholic  volumes.  We  should  call  that 
a  mild  form  of  intolerance,  and  should  we  not  ? 
But  pray  explain  yourself — what  do  you  mean  by 
''free"? 

A.  Well  1  don't  think  a  parent  has  a  right  to 
keep  the  scriptures  from  his  child. 


124  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

B.  Another  impregnable  position.  He  has  not 
as  regards  God.  But  he  has  as  regards  you  and 
me.  He  has  no  right  to  be  envious,  or  covetous, 
to  neglect  praise  and  prayers  as  regards  God, 
but  he  has  as  regards  you  and  me.  Would  you 
think  of  Kerry,  where  there  is  not  a  Protestant 
school  within  five  miles  and  the  little  Protestant 
is  secured  the  advantage  of  a  good  secular  edu- 
cation and  the  priest  or  the  teacher  cannot  inter- 
fere with  his  faith  unless  by  his  parents'  consent  ? 

A.  Oh  !  I  admit  there  are  difficulties,  but  the 
fact  is  Romanism  is  getting  it  all  its  own  way 
ever  since  1829. 

B.  Well  now  consider — what  has  most  weak- 
ened Protestantism  since  that  time  ?  Has  it  been 
concession  to  Romanists  by  "  Liberals  "  or  ap- 
proximation to  Romanism  by  high-flying  Prot- 
estants ?  Is  Protestantism  more  or  less  alive  and 
energetic  now  than  1829  ?  And  would  it  be 
stronger  now,  had  it  retained  legal  ascendency  ? 
Is  there  any  way  in  which  you  can  so  weaken 
the  hands  of  an  enemy,  and  strengthen  your 
own,  as  by  doing  him  in  all  things  the  justice  you 
claim  for  yourself .? 

A.  Yes,  but  should  a  parent  have  a  right  to 
keep  his  child  from  reading  the  Bible  } 

B.  Well  try  the  other  side  of  the  case.     Your 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  125 

little  Dickey  who  has  reached  the  mature  age  of 
nine  and  a  half  having  the  advantage  of  a  devout 
Roman  Catholic  nurse  gets  fond  of  the  wor- 
ship she  practices,  thinks  the  pictures  fine,  the 
music  beautiful  and  the  priest  imposing,  and  an- 
nounces to  you  some  fine  morning  his  intention 
of  commencing  the  study  of  Alban  Butler's 
"  Lives  of  the  Saints  "  and  begs  you  to  procure  him 
the  "Key  of  Heaven"  and  the  "Path  to  Para- 
dise."   What  would  you  do  ? 

A.  Of  course  I  would  insist  on  teaching  him, 
or  having  him  taught  the  truth,  till  he  came  to 
years  of  discretion. 

B.  Precisely;  and  for  conceding  exactly  this 
to  Roman  Catholic  parents,  the  board  is  annually 
abused  and  the  abettors  of  it  stigmatized  by  men 
who  preach  charity  and  counsel  trustfulness  as 
belonging  to  Protestantism.  How  could  the  gov- 
ernment adopt  any  other  principle  in  schools  than 
British  law  follows  in  all  other  matters  ?  Are 
the  boys  and  girls  to  be  constituted  judges  of 
their  parents'  capacity  and  right  to  rule  ?  Fancy 
Dickey  telling  you  at  breakfast,  "  Papa,  you  are 
incapable  of  being  my  governor,  according  to 
Lord  Eldon  and  Mr.  Whiteside,  for  you  have  de- 
nied the  faith!  "     The  thing  is  too  ridiculous. 

A.     But  the  government  cannot — well  at  least 


126  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

the  government  is  not  a  safe  guide  on  this  solemn 
matter. 

B.  Indeed.  You  can  trust  the  government  to 
manage  the  national  church,  but  not  the  national 
school.  The  government  can  decide  whether 
your  bishop  shall  be  evangelical  or  otherwise, 
and  in  multitudes  of  cases  whether  the  sermon 
you  hear  shall  be  good  or  bad,  but  you  will  not 
trust  the  government  to  decide  on  the  schools  of 
the  country.  Either  you  should  acquiesce  here 
or  begin  reform  farther  back. 

A.  I  admit  the  difficulty.  But  it  is  very 
hard,  is  it  not,  that  a  Protestant  clergyman 
must  refrain  from  teaching  the  truth  to  his 
little  parishioners  at  school,  unless  their  parents 
wish  it? 

B.  Try  the  rule  the  other  way  then.  Is  it  not 
very  hard  that  M.  the  cure  cannot  teach  his  little 
parishioners  the  Romist  doctrine  in  France  unless 
their  parents  wish  it  ?  Don't  we  applaud  this  as 
toleration  in  France  ? 

The  importance  of  this  position  taken  by  my 
father  in  determining  his  future  career  justifies 
the  insertion  here  of  a  condensation  of  an  article 
which  was  one  of  his  last  and  clearest  utterances 
on  this  subject.     It  was  a  defense  of  the  system 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  127 

of  national  education  in  Ireland  and  was  headed, 
"  What  is  '  Godless  '  Education  ?  " 

"  '  Godless'  is  not  a  complimentary  adjective. 
Even  the  man  whom  it  accurately  describes  does 
not  wish  it  applied  to  him.  A  '  godless ' 
'wife,'  a  'godless'  'community,'  are  undesir- 
able associations.  To  fasten  the  term  to  man  or 
thing  is  to  raise  a  strong  prejudice  against  that 
man  or  that  thing.  One  may  be,  by  common 
consent,  a  practical  atheist  and  yet  unwilling  to 
appropriate  this  reproachful  epithet. 

"Rome  has  tried  to  fasten  the  epithet,  'god- 
less,' on  all  education  that  she  does  not  direct, 
and  to  raise  a  prejudice  against  it.  A  true  and 
strong  human  instinct  demands  that  education 
should  take  account  of  God,  and  revolts  from  any 
that  ignores  Him.  It  is  clever,  therefore,  if  it 
were  only  also  honest,  to  stigmatize  any  educa- 
tion which  the  Church  does  not  direct  as  godless. 
****** 

"Now,  let  us  see.  Is  this  the  ground  of  her 
complaint  ?  The  British  Government  set  up  a 
system  of  schools  and  colleges  where  the  best 
available  teachers  should  give  all  denominations 
secular  learning  in  common;  where,  at  separate 
hours  and  in  separate  places,  the  clergy  or  other 
religious  teachers  approved  by  the  parents  should 


128  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

come  and  teach  each  his  own  co-religionists  as 
much  of  his  religion  as  they  pleased.  The  Epis- 
copalian can  then  have  Bible  and  prayer-book, 
the  Roman  Catholic  his  catechism  and  prayer- 
books,  or  any  religious  books  he  will,  and  the 
Presbyterian  his  Bible  and  Shorter  Catechism. 
The  only  two  rules  are  that  no  one  shall  be  de- 
nied secular  education  on  religious  grounds,  and 
no  one  shall  be  forced  to  learn  tenets  opposed  to 
his  own  religion.  But  each  denomination  may 
make  its  own  youth  as  'godly'  as  it  can.  This 
seems  fair  and  unobjectionable  all  round.  But 
this  was  the  very  system  that  had  the  term  *  god- 
less' applied  to  it,  and  which  is  still  denounced 
and  disliked  by  Roman  Catholic  ecclesiastics, 
though  the  laity  have  shown  their  estimate  of  its 
value  to  their  children. 

"On this  plan,  under  a  Board  of  equal  numbers 
of  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  noblemen  and 
gentlemen,  the  British  House  of  Commons  is  ex- 
pending nearly  $2,000,000  a  year  in  Ireland,  but 
it  is  in  continual  practical  war  with  the  ecclesias- 
tics, who  clamor,  under  every  variety  of  plea, 
for  a  separate  allowance  of  money — to  be  laid 
out  by  themselves.  That  the  high  officers,  the 
inspectors,  the  managers  of  the  training  schools, 
are  appointed  with  due  regard  to  denominational 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  129 

representation,  is  notliing;  that  the  books  have 
everything  offensive  to  any  denomination  ex- 
cluded, is  nothing;  that  history  is  excluded  be- 
cause history  is  hard  to  teach  without  touching 
religion,  is  nothing;  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
priest  appoints  the  teacher,  superintends  him,  and 
can  dismiss  him — all  this  is  nothing; — the  system 
is  under  condemnation,  and  the  cry  from  '  the 
Church  '  is  for  a  'separate  grant.' 

•'  We  doubt  if  any  government  ever  made  a 
more  honest  effort  to  educate  a  nation  than  that 
which  is  conferring  inestimable  blessings  on 
Ireland,  and  no  one  thing  has  excited  deeper  re- 
gret among  all  true  and  intelligent  lovers  of  that 
land  and  its  people — among  whom  the  writer 
claims  a  place — than  the  persistent  Papal  opposi- 
tion which  has  retarded,  though  it  has  not 
crushed,  the  educational" advancement  of  the 
people. 

"  It  is  idle  to  allege  that  infidelity  springs  out  of 
all  education  which  'the  Church'  does  not 
direct.  Romish  countries  have  as  many  infidels 
as  Protestant.  As  many  people — proportionally 
— in  Spain,  France,  and  Italy,  disregard  God  as 
offered  by  Roman  Catholic  teaching,  as  may  be 
found  in  Protestant  lands  disregarding  God  as 


130  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

Protestantism  worships  Him.  This  fact  no 
one  can  deny.  It  was  not  Protestantism  that 
inoculated  France  with  infidehty. 

"  It  is  nothing  to  the  point  to  parade  the  old 
argument  that  as  the  oldest  colleges,  like  Oxford, 
were  founded  by  Roman  Catholics,  therefore,  the 
system  must  be  favorable  to  learning.  It  was 
not  for  popular  education  they  were  erected,  but 
for  the  education  of  the  clergy  and  such  as  could 
afford  to  pay  well  for  education.  Nor  can  the 
Church  claim  much  honor  for  originating  these. 
The  greatest  friend  of  education,  for  many  ages, 
was  Charlemagne,  who,  by  imperial  enactment, 
ordained  that  bishops  should  erect  schools  near 
their  churches  and  that  monks  should  have  them 
in  their  monasteries.  How  much  external  power 
is  needed  to  stimulate  Romish  ecclesiastics  in  this 
direction,  might  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
the  more  bishops  and  monks  in  any  country,  as 
a  rule,  the  worse  educated  are  the  people.  On 
the  other  hand,  nowhere  are  the  masses  of  Ro- 
man Catholic  people  so  well  educated  as  where 
they  live  among  Protestants  and  under  Protestant 
institutions. 

"  Roman  Catholics  themselves  have  an  interest 
in  this  question.  They  have  derived  immense 
benefit  from  the  common  schools,  and  could  not 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  131 

gain  anything — if  all  history  is  not  a  cheat — from 
their  transfer,  in  any  greater  measure,  to  the 
Church.  The  whole  community  would  be  a 
loser,  for  it  is  for  the  public  good  that  the  people 
of  different  kindreds  and  tongues  peopling  this 
fair  and  broad  land  should  coalesce  and  become 
one;  and,  if  any  denomination  has  reason  to 
think  its  youth  less  instructed  in  religion  than  is 
fit,  surely  patriotic  and  candid  men  can  find 
means  to  supplement  the  existing  system.  It  is 
poor  policy  to  pull  down  a  good  house  for  the 
sake  of  putting  in  an  additional  window." 

This  shows  the  pronouncedly  liberal  position 
taken  in  days  when  religious  toleration  had  been 
too  much  the  monopoly  of  Quakers  and  Unita- 
rians. In  fact  the  hearty  support  that  the  Unita- 
rians had  given  to  the  national  education  plans 
of  the  government  had  formed  one  reason  for 
the  suspicion  in  some  Presbyterian  quarters. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland  has  long 
since  begun  to  realize  how  important  a  step  was 
taken  at  that  time,  and  is  also  slowly  awakening 
to  the  fact  that  larger  views  must  be  taken  of 
Protestant  opportunity,  and  Protestant  inspira- 
tions. 

The  cry  was  raised  that  the  Presbyterian 
Liberals  were  working  hand  in  hand  with  the 


132  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

"  papists,"  and  that  they  were  destructive  radicals 
etc.,  etc.  Against  these  charges  my  father  wrote 
sharply  and  clearly,  and  did  much  to  clear  the  air 
and  define  the  issues  at  stake.  Rational  and  pru- 
dent as  seem  his  counsels  now,  in  those  days 
they  excited  the  bitterest  feelings  on  the  part  of 
some  of  his  natural  friends  and  allies,  the  theolog- 
ically conservative.  He  was  accused  of  "trimm- 
ing," "working  with  both  parties,"  and  because 
he  realized  that  a  divided  Protestantism  meant 
permanent  disability  he  was  accused  of  seeking 
peace  at  the  price  of  "convictions  "  as  some  dig- 
nified their  poor  little  narrow  prejudices. 

At  last  my  father  came  out  with  a  definite  at- 
tack on  the  Tory  tactics.  In  a  rather  long  article 
reviewing  the  situation,  he  asked  unpleasant 
questions  about  the  real  meaning  of  Tory  com- 
plaints against  the  national  schools.  The  article 
was  regarded  as  an  attack  upon  the  long  time 
practice  of  acting  as  a  tail  to  the  Tory  kite  in  the 
supposed  interests  of  Protestantism,  and  more 
particularly  as  the  article  took  definite  issue  with 
the  Orange  Lodge  and  denounced  its  petty 
criticisms  of  Protestantism's  enlarging  horizon. 
He  was  then  bitterly  attacked,  these  political  at- 
tacks did  not  weaken  my  father's  position  as  a 
preacher. 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  133 

The  "common  people  heard  him  gladly"  and 
crowded  congregations  made  Mary's  Abbey  al- 
together too  small  and  too  unimportant  a  build- 
ing for  the  uses  of  the  church.  It  was  very 
earnestly  desired  to  have  Presbyterianism  prop- 
erly represented  in  Dublin.  In  fact  the  impor- 
tance of  this  was  felt  on  every  hand.  As  long  as 
Presbyterianism  was  a  local  issue  concerning  only 
Belfast  it  could  not  do  its  work  or  command  the 
support  needed  in  spreading  the  gospel.  The 
congregation  did  not  feel,  however,  strong 
enough  to  undertake  the  raising  of  a  new 
building.  Just  at  this  time  Mr.  Alexander 
Findlater  came  forward  and  offered  to  put  up 
the  building,  if  the  congregation  would  secure  a 
suitable  site.  This  was  done  by  buying  a  corner 
on  Rutland  Square  where  the  building  now  stands. 
The  following  letter  explains  the  generous  con- 
ditions of  the  gift  made  at  a  most  opportune 
time  in  the  history  of  Dublin  Presbyterianism. 

Alexander  Findlater  <2r=  Co., 

30  Upper  Sackville  St., 
Dublin,  20  yati'y,  1862. 
The  Rev.  John  Hall, 

My  dear  Sir  : — I  am  glad  that  the  ground  for  the  new 
Presbyterian  Church  is  secured,  and  as  the  congregation  of 
Mary's  Abbey  have  thus  done  their  part  of  the  work,  I  think  it 
right  to  tell  you  that  I  am  now  prepared  to  perform  mine.  I 
had  at  first  intended  to  have  so  far  interfered  in  the  proposed 


134  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

building  as  to  employ  the  architect  and  approve  of  the  plans, 
and  then  to  have  left  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  congrega- 
tion, but  on  consideration  I  have  decided  on  refraining  entirely 
from  all  personal  interference  in  the  work  beyond  the  con- 
tributing the  funds,  and  the  only  authority  I  ask  to  exercise  is 
the  nomination  of  a  committee  to  whom  I  will  delegate  the 
entire  control  of  the  business,  and  at  whose  disposal  I  will 
place  the  funds  as  they  may  be  required. 

I  believe  that  in  my  first  communication  with  you,  I  ex- 
pressed my  readiness  to  give  ;^6,ooo  to  jCyfioo.  To  remove  all 
uncertainty  on  that  subject,  I  now  beg  to  say,  that  I  will  give  if 
required  ;^8,ooo,  and  the  only  stipulation  on  which  I  will  in- 
sist in  return  is  that  the  ground  and  building  shall  be  given  up 
perfectly  free  of  debt,  so  that  the  congregation  shall  be  able  to 
support  their  ministry  liberally. 

Although  the  proposed  church  is  intended  primarily  for  the 
congregation  of  Mary's  Abbey,  yet  my  idea  has  been,  (in 
which  I  believe  the  Presbyterian  public  concur)  that  it  should 
be  adapted  for  meetings  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  should 
in  all  respects  by  its  architectural  appearance,  its  position  and 
internal  accommodations,  be  a  building  worthy  of  the  Presby- 
terian Body  in  the  Metropolis,  and  therefore  I  think  that  the 
committee  for  carrying  out  these  views,  should  not  be  composed 
exclusively  of  members  of  Mary's  Abbey  congregation, 
although  I  am  willing  that  they  should  form  the  majority. 

I  propose  on  the  whole  that  the  committee  shall  consist  of 
five,  namely,  yourself  as  chairman  (on  which  you  will  excuse 
me  saying  I  must  insist)  Mr.  Drury,  Dr.  Denham,  Mr.  Todd 
and  Mr.  Geo.  Blood,  and  I  will  be  happy  to  give  you  a  room 
at  30  Sackville  street  as  long  as  you  may  find  it  convenient  to 
meet  there.  My  dear  sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Alex.  Findlater. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Findlater  was  the  leading  wine 
and  spirit  merchant  in  Dublin  caused  some  com- 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  135 

ment,  as  he  was  one  whom  my  father's  temper- 
ance agitation  it  was  feared  might  antagonize. 
And  it  is  needless  to  remark  that  the  temperance 
agitation  continued  unabated. 

The  new  building  was  entered  in  1864  with  ap- 
propriate services,  and  a  great  burden  of  new 
pastoral  care  came  upon  the  ministry.  Dublin 
was  growing  in  all  directions  although  not  very 
rapidly  and  the  congregation  came  from  great 
distances.  It  was  my  father's  habit  to  start  out, 
going  from  house  to  house,  where  parishioners 
lived  until  he  had  reached  the  outmost  limit, 
when  he  would  often  take  an  outside  car  home, 
or  reversing  the  process  he  would  select  some 
farthest  point  and  work  his  way  back  to  the  city. 

The  first  house  was  in  No.  45  Eccles  street, 
and  afterward  in  No.  11  of  the  same  street. 
From  the  rear  windows  of  the  last  house  the 
younger  children  many  times  watched  the  road 
along  which  the  father  might  come,  often  bring- 
ing a  few  "sweeties,"  by  which  name  candy  was 
known  in  Ireland,  for  the  comfort  and  delectation 
of  the  little  ones. 

Many  times  in  later  life  the  remembrance  of  a 
large  and  well-kept  garden  in  Dublin  was  a 
pleasure  to  my  father.  The  head  gardener  of  the 
Vice-regal  Lodge  was  an  old  friend  and  insisted 


136  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

upon  assuming  the  charge  of  this  garden. 
Flowers,  and  fruits,  a  dove-cot  and  a  greenhouse 
made  it  an  ideal  place  for  the  children,  who  were 
encouraged  to  cultivate  little  plots  of  ground  for 
themselves.  Skilled  gardeners  came  regularly 
and  watched  over  the  fruits  and  flowers;  from 
them  the  children  obtained  plants  and  flower- 
shoots  as  well  as  directions  as  to  how  these 
should  be  cared. 

Often  in  later  years  my  father  sighed  for  a 
sight  of  green  from  his  study  window.  Once 
he  wrote  while  on  a  visit  to  Ireland: 

"Yes,  this  is  my  native  land — these  are  my 
native  fields.  In  New  York,  my  eyes  are  often 
hungry  for  something  higher  than  the  top  of  a 
warehouse,  or  hotel,  or  church-spire,  and  some- 
thing more  simple  and  varied  than  brown  stone 
cut  into  fantastic  shapes.  Here  they  are  *  satisfied 
with  seeing.'  Oh !  this  delicious  green — all 
green,  yet  not  all  the  same  green,  for  there  is  one 
green  of  the  oats,  and  another  of  the  grass,  and 
another  of  the  hedges,  and  another  of  the  trees, 
and  another  of  the  flax,  and  over  all  'the  lark 
sings  loud  and  high.'  1  now  find  one  good  thing 
has  to  Ireland  come  through  our  Fenian  friends; 
and  I  cheerfully  acknowledge  it.  The  stir  they 
made  led  to  the  'proclaiming'  of  wide  districts; 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  137 

and  this  rendered  the  possession  and  carrying  of 
fire-arms  more  difficult;  and  this  led  to  the 
diminution  of  'gunning,'  or  'fowling,'  as  it  is  in 
the  vernacular  of  Ulster;  and  this  led  to  the  in- 
crease of  birds,  the  solemn  crow,  the  chattering 
daw,  the  long-tailed  magpie,  with  his  piebald 
coat  and  pert  manner,  and  the  dear  old  plain- 
coated  thrush.  Burns'  'mavis,'  and  the  equally 
mellow-voiced  blackbird.  And  here  in  every 
hedge  is  the  robin,  not  the  great  able-bodied 
robin  of  America,  made  on  the  scale  of  the  coun- 
2ry,  but  the  true  robin,  no  bigger  than  the  spar- 
row— the  very  robin  that  covered  up  the  babes  in 
the  wood  with  dry  leaves,  and  then  sung  a 
funeral  dirge  over  them.  Of  course  no  one  but 
a  brute  would  shoot  him,  in  Ireland,  where  they 
know  the  true  history  of  his  red  breast;  how  he 
pitied  the  world's  Redeemer  on  the  cross  and 
tried  in  vain  to  pull  away  the  thorns  from  his 
brow,  and  one  of  them  pricked  his  own  bosom 
and  the  blood  came  out,  and  the  Redeemer 
marked  the  well-meant  effort  of  the  little  bird, 
and  through  His  benediction  the  blood  stain  be- 
came a  glory  on  his  breast  forever." 

But  a  little  plot  of  garden  such  as  almost  every 
poorest  householder  in  Dublin  may  cherish  is  in 
New  York's  wilderness  of  stone  and  brick  such 


138  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

a  luxury  as  even  multi-millionaires  cannot  often 
permit  themselves. 

The  summer  vacations  were  variously  spent. 
One  of  the  simple  pleasures  of  my  father's 
younger  days  was  a  walking  trip  in  Wales. 
With  light  luggage,  and  living  on  the  simple  fare 
of  the  kindly  Welsh  people  he  walked  all  over 
the  northern  and  southern  parts  of  Wales,  and 
retained  to  the  end  of  his  life  a  great  admiration, 
and  deep  regard  for  the  Welsh  people.  A  little 
Erse  which  he  had  picked  up  in  Connaught  helped 
him  to  make  his  wants  known  where  only  the 
Welsh  tongue  was  spoken.  He  also  visited 
with  my  mother  and  a  dear  friend  the  principal 
continental  cities,  travelling  in  France  and  Italy 
as  well  as  Switzerland.  The  vacations  were 
short,  but  in  successive  trips  he  covered  in  this 
way  a  good  deal  of  ground. 

The  Dublin  ministry  had  many  joys  as  well  as 
the  usual  trials.  The  last  addition  to  the  family 
circle  was  a  little  girl  born  in  Dublin,  and  a  great 
delight  to  the  parents  in  the  midst  of  so  many 
boys.  Warm  friends  and  tender  life-attach- 
ments were  here  formed.  Moreover  the  in- 
fluence of  the  voice  in  the  pulpit  was  greatly 
supplemented  by  the  writings  in  the  Evangelical 
Witness,  already  mentioned  as  founded  by  my 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  139 

father  in  the  years  when  most  his  hands  seemed 
full  with  a  new  church  building  in  prospect.     It 
was  a  difficult  undertaking.     Every  question  in 
Ireland  at  that  time  was  political.     Moreover  the 
divisions    among    the    Presbyterians    was   pro- 
nounced.    The  aim  of  the  Evangelical  Witness 
was  to  write  news  of  different  political  convic- 
tions on  the  basis  of  an  honest  evangelical  Prot- 
estantism.     My   father  was  as  we   have  seen 
himself  a  pronounced   Liberal,   but  he  was  no 
politician  either  secular  or  ecclesiastical.     To  him 
the   success  of  evangelical  orthodoxy   was  the 
supreme  end.     He  sought  to  interest  men  of  all 
shades    of    political    and  ecclesiastical   opinion. 
Hence  he  often  gave  offense  to  extremists  on 
both  sides.     As  Thomas  Macnight,  so  long  an 
editor  of  a  foremost  Liberal  paper  in  Belfast  has 
written  of  those  days,  "I  repeat,  therefore,  that 
to  be  a  Liberal  in  Ulster  at  that  time  (1866)  was 
a  very  different  thing  from  being  a  Liberal  in 
Great  Britain.     It  meant  a  great  deal  more;   it 
meant  often  pecuniary  loss,  loss  of  municipal  and 
Parliamentary    honors,    loss    even    of  ordinary 
social  courtesies  from  the  great  Ulster  noblemen 
and  their  families,  whose  names  at  least  were  as- 
sociated with  the  old  ascendency."     But  Liberal- 
ism was  making  steady   headway  among  the 


140  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

younger  men.  Dr.  Cooke  saw  it  and  felt  it  as  an 
almost  personal  grievance.  In  1866  a  movement 
was  set  on  foot  to  mark  the  real  union  ot  the 
two  wings  by  electing  a  Liberal  to  the  moderator- 
ship  of  the  General  Assembly.  Already,  how- 
ever, disestablishment  was  in  the  air.  Strenuous 
efforts  were  made  to  enlist  the  Presbyterian 
Church  on  the  side  of  the  establishment.  In 
those  days  all  Presbyterian  ministers  received  the 
so  called  Regium  Donum  a  small  sum  "given" 
as  a  solace  to  the  "dissenting  meeting-houses." 
On  the  basis  of  this  gracious  favor  vast  efforts 
were  made  to  hold  the  Presbyterian  Assembly 
true  to  the  principle  of  a  "God-fearing  state." 
It  would  never  do,  therefore,  to  have  a  Liberal 
elected  to  the  moderatorship.  The  editor  of  the 
Evangelical  Witness,  and  the  man  who  had  at 
last  given  Dublin  a  worthy  Presbyterian  church, 
and  made  Presbyterianism  known  and  respected 
as  something  more  than  the  Ulster  tail  to  the 
Orange  kite,  was  the  natural  candidate.  It  was 
quite  impossible  to  impeach  the  orthodoxy  or 
spiritual  experience  of  my  father,  but  he  had 
somehow  to  be  gotten  rid  of  in  an  honorable 
and  yet  effective  way.  This  way  was  easily 
found.  He  was  made  a  delegate  to  the  Assem- 
blies' meeting  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN         141 

Dr.  J.  C.  Johnston  (Dublin)  reports '  a  reply  said 
to  have  been  made  at  this  time  by  my  father. 
Some  one  said  to  him  "  I  thought  you  were  to 
have  been  moderator.^"  "My  brethren  have 
transported  me,"  was  the  half-humorous  re- 
joinder. So  transported  he  was,  adds  Dr.  Johns- 
ton, "and  his  political  and  other  heresies  troubled 
the  Assembly  no  more." 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  the  first 
journey  was  undertaken  to  America  in  company 
with  Dr.  Denham  Smith  as  delegates  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  North. 

No  thought  at  that  time  had  entered  my  father's 
mind  that  he  might  be  called  to  leave  Dublin. 
Many  interests  bound  him  to  the  place.  He  felt 
deeply  responsible  for  the  success  of  the  new 
church  in  Rutland  Square.  The  future  of  the 
Evangelical  IVilness  seemed  to  depend  largely 
upon  him.  He  was  surrounded  by  able  and 
sympathetic  men,  for  not  only  was  his  old  friend 
and  college  companion.  Dr.  Hamilton  Magee  in 
Dublin,  but  Dr.  Fleming  Stevenson  was  meeting 
with  great  and  deserved  success  in  a  new  church 
enterprise  with  which  my  father  had  had  much 
to  do.     In  fact  on  all  sides  he  was  engaged,  as 

1  The  Irish  Presbyterian,  November,  1898. 


142  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

he  thought,  usefully.  He  had  refused  a  splendid 
opening  for  usefulness  in  Glasgow,  A  committee 
had  waited  upon  him  from  free  St.  George's 
Church  in  Edinburgh  to  urge  him  to  consider 
that  opening,  but  he  not  only  refused,  but  at  his 
suggestion  the  matter  was  kept  confidential,  and 
until  the  memoirs  of  one  of  the  committeemen 
was  published  in  which  the  offer  was  mentioned 
no  public  knowledge  was  had  of  the  refusal. 
Even  in  Belfast  many  were  hoping  that  he  would 
sooner  or  later  be  called  to  take  the  real  leader- 
ship in  the  Assembly. 

The  attempt  to  nominate  him  for  the  modera- 
torship  revealed  what  was  a  complete  surprise  to 
him.  He  saw  that  the  "pillars"  did  not  want 
him.  He  was  too  active,  too  aggressive,  too  lit- 
tle of  a  man  to  handle,  too  hard  to  confer  secretly 
with,  nor  was  he  given  to  schemes  and  arrange- 
ments. He  was  moreover  a  Liberal,  believed  in 
secular  education  and  personal  rights.  He 
thought  questions  should  be  debated  in  open 
court,  and  that  men  should  respect  each  other's 
differing  views.  To  his  dying  day  he  loved  and 
reverenced  Dr.  Cooke,  and  looked  on  him  with 
almost  an  indiscriminating  honor  and  affection. 
He  saw  no  reason  why  the  small  men  who  came 
toddling  after  Dr.  Cooke  imitating  their  leader  on 


MARY'S  ABBEY— DUBLIN  143 

his  weakest  side,  should  quarrel  with  him  be- 
cause he  could  not  share  Dr.  Cooke's  political 
opinions,  or  be  blinded  by  the  Conservative 
chaff  obsequious  Tories  flung  in  Dr.  Cooke's  eyes. 
He  knew,  moreover,  that  Dr.  Cooke  himself  de- 
manded no  sacrifice  of  manhood  from  his  younger 
brethren  ;  that  although  accustomed  to  be  obeyed, 
and  proud  of  his  judgment  and  skill  in  debate, 
yet  even  so  in  the  most  acrid  disputes  of  the 
old  Arian  controversy,  Dr.  Cooke  had  main- 
tained the  position  that  there  should  be  no  perse- 
cution "for  personal  opinion"  and  no  legislation 
that  would  be  retroactive  ;  and  that  only  con- 
vinced judgment  was  worth  anything  to  the 
Church. 

It  was  with  mingled  feelings,  therefore,  as  the 
correspondence  shows,  that  the  invitation  to  go 
as  delegate  to  America  was  accepted,  and  other 
overtures  coming  just  at  that  time  of  a  most  in- 
viting character,  opened  up  before  him,  as  he 
started  westward,  the  whole  subject  of  his  duty 
to  Ireland,  to  himself  and  to  the  Church  at  large. 
At  the  same  time  the  idea  of  going  to  America 
was  wholly  strange  to  him.  There  were  not  as 
many  ties  between  the  two  countries  then  as 
now,  and  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  the  call  ex- 
tended to  the  Dublin  preacher  by  the  New  York 


144      'l^HE  MINISTRY  IN  DUBLIN 

congregation  was  one  of  the  first  calls  of  the 
kind,  although  the  precedent  was  followed  very 
often  in  after  years.  To  the  little  household  in 
Dublin  the  trip  seemed  an  exceedingly  formidable 
one.  The  far-off  land  lay  then  on  a  vastly  more 
misty  horizon  than  it  does  now,  although  even 
yet  the  American  much  more  easily  makes  the 
journey  to  Europe,  accustomed  as  the  American 
is  to  longer  distances  in  his  own  land,  than  does 
the  European  make  the  trip  to  America.  Hence 
with  some  measure  of  excitement,  natural  under 
the  circumstances,  the  duties  of  the  delegation 
were  undertaken. 


VI.     FIRST  JOURNEY  TO  THE  UNITED 
STATES 


A  PRAYER  FOR  ONE  TRAVELLING 

Gracious  Father  ! 

We  desire  to  join  together  with  all  our  hearts  in 
committing  to  Thy  care  one  who  now  leaves  his 
dwelling.  Go  Thou,  O  heavenly  Father,  who  art 
everywhere  present,  with  him,  to  give  safety  and 
peace  in  all  the  ways  of  life,  to  bestow  the  peace  that 
Cometh  from  knowing  and  serving  Christ,  and  to  give 
at  last  an  entrance  with  us,  and  with  all  the  family 
that  is  named  after  Jesus,  into  Thy  heavenly  king- 
dom, through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

— From  Family  Prayers,  by  J,  Hall. 


146 


VI 

FIRST  JOURNEY  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES 

CONTINENTAL  7RAl^ELS.  FIRST  VOYAGE  ACROSS  THE 
ATLANTIC.  IMPRESSIONS  OF  NEIV  YORK.  THE  ASSEMBLIES 
WESTERN  EXPERIENCES.  FAST  TRAl^ELLING.  WASHINGTON 
^ND  BALTIMORE.     THE  JOURNEY  HOME. 

IN  the  spring  of  1867  my  parents  went  with  an 
old  friend,  with  whom  they  often  travelled, 
for  a  trip  to  Italy.  They  left  Dublin  on  March 
25th,  for  London,  going  at  once  to  Paris,  and 
thence  next  day  to  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Nice  and 
thence  by  steamer  to  Genoa,  and  after  a  rather 
hurried  visit  to  Naples  and  the  surrounding 
country  they  proceeded  to  Rome  to  be  there  in 
time  for  the  Lenten  week,  and  the  Easter  cele- 
bration. The  impressions  made  on  my  father  by 
this  visit  to  Rome  he  often  recalled.  He  had 
many  warm  personal  admirers  among  the  Roman 
Catholics,  and  had  worked  with  them  in  Ireland 
in  many  public  enterprises,  but  he  had  a  deeply- 
rooted  sense  of  the  danger  of  Roman  Catholicism 
as  a  system.  In  Rome  he  saw  what  he  con- 
sidered the  pure  heathenism  of  both  the  ceremo- 
nial and  the  government.  In  those  days  Rome 
was  still  under  the  dominion  of  the  Vatican. 
H7 


148  FIRST  JOURNEY 

The  luggage  was  searched  for  forbidden  books, 
among  which  the  New  Testament  was  counted 
as  one,  and  on  every  hand  was  seen  the  adminis- 
trative inefficiency  of  the  Papal  power  in  Rome. 
When  in  1870  a  change  became  inevitable  in  the 
mastery  over  Rome  no  one  rejoiced  more  at  the 
thought  of  a  free  Italy  than  did  my  father.  The 
glory  of  the  music,  and  the  gorgeous  nature  of 
the  spectacle  in  Rome  was  not  enough  to  hide 
from  him  the  miserable  bondage,  as  he  saw  it,  of 
the  superstitions  that  overlaid  the  gospel.  The 
crowds  of  dirty  monks,  the  beggars,  the  filth  of  the 
side  streets,  the  disorder  during  the  processions, 
the  eternal  paying  of  small  sums  for  services  not 
really  rendered,  and  the  miserable  way  in  which 
the  art  treasures  and  the  priceless  antiquities  were 
kept  seem  to  have  been  the  impressions  most 
deeply  made  upon  the  whole  party.  So  bad  was 
the  drainage,  and  so  defective  the  water  supply, 
that  each  returning  Easter  season  with  its  crowds 
brought  fever  as  a  regular  and  expected  guest 
into  the  city.  Nor  did  the  party  wholly  escape, 
although  prompt  flight  to  Florence  stopped  the 
attack  from  reaching  a  serious  point.  The  ap- 
pointment to  go  to  America  compelled  my  father 
to  hurry  home,  and  leaving  the  two  ladies  in 
Paris  he  made  his  way  back  to  Dublin.     A  pas- 


DR.  JOHN  HALL  AT  THE  AGE  OF  THIRTY  EKIHT 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        149 

sage  having  been  secured  for  him  on  the  steam- 
ship City  of  New  York,  he  was  bound  to  sail 
on  the  2d  of  May.  This  first  voyage  v^as  so  new 
an  experience  that  a  careful  journal  was  kept. 
The  contrast  between  the  present  day  comfort 
makes  some  selections  from  it  of  interest. 

"  2d  May,  1867.  Left  my  most  happy  home  at 
eight  o'clock  for  Queen's  Bridge  Station.  Had  the 
carriage  mostly  to  myself  for  reading  purposes 
good,  no  one  coming  in  to  whom  I  cared  to  talk. 
Got  a  horse  and  cart  (Cork  cars  too  small)  to  take 
my  luggage  to  the  Queenstown  Station.  After  a 
delay  of  an  hour  the  steamer  was  signalled,  and 
we  saw  her  coming  in.  The  passengers  gath- 
ered, and  we  all  set  out  in  the  tender  for  her — 
about  half  a  mile  away.  The  embarking  of  the 
steerage  passengers  was  a  scramble,  in  the  end 
of  which  I  got  my  luggage  and  possession  of  my 
cabin.  I  find  I  have  a  room  all  to  myself.  It  is 
a  very  good  one  in  the  centre  of  the  ship,  al- 
though the  steward  says  it  takes  in  water  in  cer- 
tain weather.  I  got  settled  about  six  o'clock,  and 
going  on  deck  found  the  night  too  thick  to  see  much 
of  the  land.  I  waited  for  tea  at  half-past  seven,  but 
when  it  was  served  was  not  disposed  for  it;  went 
to  my  berth  and  had  an  undisturbed  night's  sleep. 

"3d  May,  Friday.    Could  have  had  some  break- 


150  FIRST  JOURNEY 

fast  but  the  steward  forgot  my  order,  and  I  did 
not  feel  enough  appetite  to  make  a  row,  for 
when  I  got  up  I  felt  squeamish,  but  was  very 
well  in  bed.  At  four  I  rose  and  dressed  and 
went  on  deck  after  dinner.  It  was  raining,  and 
after  surveying  the  scene  without  poetry  or  en- 
thusiasm of  any  kind  I  returned,  undressed  and 
went  to  bed.  The  strongest  feeling  of  my  rather 
torpid  nature  at  this  time  was  one  of  profound 
thankfulness  that  my  darling  children  were 
happy  at  home,  and  my  beloved  wife  enjoying 
herself  in  Paris.  I  was  not  however  continuously 
sick,  but  was  plainly  thought  to  be  so,  for  an  oppo- 
site neighbor  with  whom  I  had  exchanged  scraps 
of  personal  history  on  Thursday  evening  (from 
Hollywood,  County  Down)  came  to  me  and  offered 
some  'excellent  oaten  bread'  which  his  wife  had 
bought  as  a  '  good  thing  to  settle  the  stomach.'  I 
felt  the  kindness,  but  as  sheherself  was  audibly  ill 
in  bed  I  did  not  feel  proper  confidence  in  the  cure. 
"  Saturday  morning.  May  4th.  .  .  .  I  ought 
to  say  that  the  ship's  motion  is  easy,  but  to  me  dis- 
agreeable, though  I  can  hardly  tell  why.  We  have 
our  sails  set  and  are  going  over  smooth  enough 
water  at  twelve  miles  an  hour,  so  that  we  must  be 
now  about  540  miles  from  Cork  on  Saturday  after- 
noon. 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        151 

"Wednesday  morning.  May  8th.  Soon  after 
the  above  was  written  the  weather  became  too 
rough  to  admit  of  doing  anything  with  comfort 
except '  looking  upward '  and  thinking  of  my  treas- 
ures on  earth.  The  high  sea  makes  the  sound  of 
the  engine  and  screw  most  disagreeable.  Re- 
morseless unresting,  it  keeps  pounding  away  as  it 
were  at  my  very  head,  and  accompanied  as  it  is  by 
the  dashing  of  the  water  along  the  side  of  the  ship 
and  especially  about  the  screw,  it  is  not  at  all 
favorable  to  rest  at  night,  especially  in  the  crib, 
which  it  is  an  insult  to  my  usual  sleeping  place  to 
call '  a  bed.'  Sabbath  continued  rough  with  most 
disagreeable  cross  seas:  no  service  of  any  kind 
could  be  had,  and  many  were  sick  in  their  berths. 
Of  the  remainder  many,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  were 
drunk  at  night.  Each  afternoon  I  went  for  a  little 
on  deck,  but  have  not  much  appetite  save  for 
meat,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  could  consume  a  jar  of 
pickles. 

"On  Monday  the  cross  seas  changed  into  a  series 
of  squalls,  dead  against  us  which  reduced  our 
speed  to  about  six  knots  an  hour,  and  made  our 
plunging  through  it  very  uncomfortable.  1  spent 
the  whole  forepart  of  the  day  on  deck,  the  fore- 
part of  the  ship  every  now  and  then  covered  with 
a  sheet  of  spray.     .     .     .     Had  a  good  deal  of 


152  FIRST  JOURNEY 

talk  with  some  passengers,  and  especially  with 
a  highly  educated  German  (I  suspect  a  Jesuit 
priest)  who  speaks  English  well,  and  knows  the 
older  philosophy  well,  but  he  is  feeble  indeed  as 
to  the  truth.  He  could  not  hold  his  ground  five 
minutes  with  Hamilton  Magee. 

"On  Tuesday  things  got  still  worse.  A  stiff 
northwesterly  wind  blowing  us  out  of  our 
course.  Only  a  sailor  could  hold  his  footing.  I 
sat  a  long  time  on  the  steps  and  watched  the 
scene,  the  captain,  who,  of  course,  made  little  of 
it  with  me  for  a  little  while.  Storms  are  painted 
fairly  enough  by  the  writers  and  painters.  The 
great  irregular  moving  masses  of  water,  black, 
dark  blue,  cobalt  and  now  and  then,  as  the  sun 
shone  through  the  tops  of  the  waves,  light-blue 
and  even  green  like  malachite,  may  well  enough 
look  to  the  imaginations  of  steerage  passengers 
on  a  lower  deck  'mountain  high.'  In  point 
of  fact  I  think  the  valleys  were  about  fifteen  feet 
deep.  The  stormy  petrels  were  skimming  their 
sides,  like  swallows,  no  doubt  seeking  their  food. 
The  screams  of  great  sea-birds  were  now  and 
again  heard,  and  their  plunges  into  the  waves 
were  seen.  They  are  often  in  the  '  troubled ' 
waters  behind  the  ship.  As  night  came  on  the 
sea  grew  worse,  and  with  nothing  but  the  ship 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        153 

to  blow  against  the  motion  became  unpleasant. 
The  wind  went  hissing  through  the  shrouds 
(like  the  confidential  whisper  of  the  tempest) 
with  a  subdued  force  that  we  felt  rather  than 
heard,  and  it  was  withal  very  cold.  I  went  to 
bed  realizing  I  trust  and  feel  the  meaning  of 
Psalm  46  (God  is  our  refuge  and  our  strength). 
The  early  part  of  the  night  continued  rough,  but 
towards  morning  it  moderated,  and  the  wind 
chopped  about  on  our  beam,  so  that  we  have 
some  sails  up  and  are  going  as  fast  as  on  the  first 
days.  .  .  .  Among  the  suffering  ladies  I  am 
sorry  to  report  my  oaten-cake  friend,  who  has 
not  realized  the  benefit  of  the  specific.  She  has 
not  left  her  cabin,  but  may  be  heard  in  it,  where 
she  is  accompanied  by  two  suffering  children. 
As  I  write  the  ship  rolls  a  good  deal  and  makes 
writing  very  difficult.  I  have  my  pockets  full  of 
books,  and  beside  me  the  features  of  my  own 
little  circle,  and  now  that  we  are  more  than  half 
way  to  New  York,  and  we  may  hope  the  worser 
half,  I  need  not  feel  cast  down.  In  time  perhaps 
I  would  get  inured  to  life  at  sea  but  it  would  take 
long. 

^  Hf  if:  ^  ^  ^ 

"  Wednesday,  four  o'clock.     This  is  the  first 
endurable  day  for  three  or  four.     The  day  keeps 


154  FIRST  JOURNEY 

fine,  and  we  make  fair  progress.  I  have  done 
more  to-day  in  reading,  etc.,  than  any  one  else 
likely  on  board.  It  is  a  lazy  life.  Got  through 
several  magazines  which  had  lain  by  me  on  the 
continent.  The  ship  will  soon  have  been  eight 
clear  days  from  Liverpool,  and  if  it  had  not  been 
for  adverse  winds  three  more  would  likely  have 
brought  us  in  sight  of  America.  Now  it  will 
\ikely  take  five  more.  .  .  .  Last  night  I  found 
some  Irish  Presbyterians  on  board,  and  to-day  I 
was  a  good  deal  among  the  steerage  people  talk- 
ing to  them  as  well  as  I  could.  They  are  of  all 
nations,  and  this  is  not  easy.  To-day  the  ship 
made  320  miles,  and  if  all  goes  well  we  shall  still 
reach  New  York  on  Monday.  I  have  made  the 
acquaintance  of  an  Englishman,  an  engineer  who 
has  been  through  Turkey  in  Asia.  His  little 
Greek  wife  is  with  him,  the  daughter  of  a  Greek 
captain  of  a  Turkish  warship.  She  cannot  speak 
English  and  he  cannot  speak  Greek,  but  both 
speak  Turkish  and  so  converse  in  that  tongue. 
He  gives  a  bad  account  of  the  Greeks  as  dishon- 
est, mean  and  lying.  He  is  not  a  man  of  culture, 
but  in  knocking  about  the  world  has  learned 
many  facts.  .  .  .  Our  captain  is  the  man 
who  was  out  fifty-four  days  in  the  City  of 
Washington,  whose  screw  was  lost.      He  put 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        155 

his  passengers  aboard  another  ship  and  stuck  by 
his  own.  .  .  .  There  are  760  steerage  pas- 
sengers! Swiss,  Swedes,  Dutch,  English,  Amer- 
icans and  Irish;  and  the  crew  also  are  much  di- 
vided in  nationality.  .  .  .  I  spoke  to  a  young 
woman  (married)  going  to  San  Francisco,  who 
told  me  her  family  lived  in  Dublin,  and  that  her 
brother  was  or  had  been  a  Methodist,  but  now  went 
to  a  'people  they  call  Presbyterians,  and  the  min- 
ister was  a  Dr.  Hall  or  Hawley,  she  didn't  know 
which.'  I  took  his  address.  Have  been  among 
the  steerage  folks  again — not  many  English-speak- 
ing Protestants  among  them.  But  on  the  whole 
a  sober  lot.  The  worst  case,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
of  beastly  drinking  is  among  the  cabin  pas- 
sengers— a  Belfast  man,  who  gives  himself  out  to 
be  a  mill  owner. 

****** 

"  Sabbath  morning,  May  12th.  Good  sleep,  and 
up  early  as  the  captain  has  asked  me  to  preach. 
Good  congregation  including  two  Jews  and  a 
Roman  Catholic  doctor,  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest,  already  mentioned  from  Germany.  My 
text  was  I  Peter  1:19.  Afterwards  went  below 
among  the  steerage  passengers  and  never  spent 
a  happier  time  than  the  four  hours  with  them; 
the  Swedes,  five  hundred  of  them,  all  Lutheran, 


156  FIRST  JOURNEY 

singing  their  hymns  to  the  tune  'I  have  a  Father 
in  the  promised  land.'  I  got  hold  of  a  good  lad 
who  spoke  English  and  interpreted  and  1  preached 
to  them.  Their  tears  flowed.  They  kissed  my 
hands,  and  were  most  grateful  All  are  learning 
English.  The  evening  was  fine,  the  moon  shi- 
ning, and  we  getting  on  our  way  very  well." 

The  rest  of  the  journal  is  filled  with  little  details 
of  only  relative  interest  now.  My  father  was 
taken  at  once  to  the  home  of  Mr.  James  Stuart, 
a  distant  relative,  where  as  he  remarks,  "I  am 
luxuriously  lodged." 

The  object  of  sending  a  delegation  to  America 
from  the  church  of  Ireland  was  to  establish  again 
bonds  of  fellowship  imperilled  by  the  Civil  war, 
and  its  divisions  of  sentiment.  Dr.  Denham  was 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  but  my  father  as  the 
younger  man,  expected  to  travel  too  far  and  too 
fast  to  permit  of  the  trip  being  a  pleasure  to  a 
lady.  He  at  one  time  thought  of  taking  his 
eldest  boy,  but  the  same  considerations  prevented 
that  plan  also.  He  had  only  eight  weeks  in  the 
country,  and  in  that  time  he  spoke  day  after  day 
in  nearly  all  the  eastern  and  many  of  the  western 
cities.  The  delegation  was  formally  accredited 
to  the  Old  and  New  School  Assemblies,  to  the 
Synod  of  the  Reformed  church  and  to  the  Synod 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        157 

of  the  Covenanters,  and  while  in  America  a  com- 
mission came  to  them  to  the  Covenanter  Synod 
in  Canada.  One  of  the  vivid  recorded  impres- 
sions of  New  York  was  a  thunder-storm  which 
came  soon  after  landing;  "  I  slept  well,  notwith- 
standing a  thunder-storm  last  night  like  which  I 
never  saw  anything."  The  first  duty  was  dis- 
charged in  meeting  the  "  Covenanters,"  as  my 
father  calls  the  body  to  which  Mr.  George  H. 
Stuart  at  that  time  belonged,  i.  e.,  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  which  was  meeting  in 
New  York.  Mr.  Stuart  was  a  relative,  and  had  a 
national  reputation  in  religious  circles  on  account 
of  his  zeal  and  energy  in  all  good  works,  but  in 
particular  in  connection  with  that  of  the  Chris- 
tian commission  throughout  the  Civil  war.  No 
religious  public  meeting  without  Mr.  Stuart  as 
chairman  was  considered  quite  complete.  He 
was  afterwards  disciplined  by  his  body  for  sing- 
ing hymns,  which  as  he  was  totally  tone-deaf 
seemed  to  many  to  be  making  a  crime  out  of  a 
calamity.  He  had  long  known  and  corres- 
ponded with  my  father,  (see  page  58)  and  had 
shown  practical  and  wise  interest  in  the  Con- 
naught  mission.  It  was  now  a  great  and  real 
pleasure  to  him  to  arrange  plans  for  the  appear- 
ances of  the  delegation.     Mr.  Stuart  had  an  in- 


158  FIRST  JOURNEY 

satiable  appetite  for  public  meetings,  and  his 
mere  presence  insured  that  the  meeting  would  be 
well  arranged,  full  of  snap  and  thoroughly  well- 
known  beforehand.  He  moreover  knew  well 
the  American  public,  and  was  in  touch  with  as 
many  religious  interests  as  any  man  of  his  gener- 
ation. He  at  once  began  making  plans  for  the 
exploiting  of  the  Irish  delegation.  Mr.  Stuart 
coming  himself  from  Markethill  in  the  north  of 
Ireland  felt  a  most  particular  desire  to  have  the 
results  of  the  mission  as  abundant  as  possible. 

In  a  letter  to  the  home  circle,  my  father  says  in 
one  place:  "I  need  not  now  dwell  upon  impres- 
sions. Everything  indicates  wealth,  and  all  that 
money  can  buy  is  on  hand.  Every  one  is  most 
kind,  and  I  am  sure,  sincerely  glad  to  see  us.  We 
shall  have  hard  work  for  the  next  month,  if  we 
overtake  all  the  engagements  made  for  us.  New 
York  is  fine;  in  the  end  I  live  is  like  the  west 
end  of  Glasgow;  the  business  end  has  an  un- 
finished rough  and  ready,  republican  kind  of 
look,  every  house  having  a  mind  of  its  own." 

After  meeting  with  the  Reformed  Presbyte- 
rian church  the  start  was  made  for  Rochester 
where  the  New  School  Assembly  was  in  session. 
The  trip  took  the  party  up  the  Hudson,  which 
made  a  most  enduring  impression  upon  the  visi- 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        159 

tors.  "The  river  itself  is  far  finer  than  the 
Rhine,  or  any  river  in  Europe,  although,  of 
course,  it  lacks  the  historic  feature,  and  the 
picturesque  castles  of  the  old  world  scenery," 
was  the  verdict  of  my  father.  As  it  happened 
two  brothers  of  younger  years  had  preceded  my 
father  to  America,  and  as  both  were  in  Canada, 
and  not  far  from  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  he  writes 
"I  found  at  breakfast  that  I  was  within  a  day's 
journey  and  six  dollars  of  Robert.  The  love  of 
my  brothers  got  the  better  of  the  love  of  the  Falls 
and  at  ten  o'clock  I  was  off  to  the  Canada  side, 
crossed  Lake  Ontario  by  boat  to  Toronto,  thence 
sixty-three  miles  by  train.  There  I  spent  the 
Sabbath  and  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  and 
Wesleyan  churches." 

On  Tuesday  the  delegation  was  received  at 
Rochester  by  the  New  School  Assembly,  and 
"very  cordially"  is  the  comment  of  the  corre- 
spondence. Thence  they  proceeded  to  Cincin- 
nati, "rather  slowly"  my  father  thought,  but 
"Dr.  Denham  does  not  like  to  go  too  fast."  At 
Cincinnati  the  speech  of  my  father  made  a  pro- 
found impression.  The  enthusiasm  aroused  was 
very  great,  and  from  that  time  on  calls  came 
to  him  to  speak  at  meetings  all  over  the  country 
at  most  impossible  distances.     Of  this  speech 


i6o  FIRST  JOURNEY 

Harper's  IVeekly  said:  "His  eloquent  speech  on 
the  occasion  of  his  reception,  which  was  one  of 
the  striking  incidents  of  that  Assembly,  will  never 
be  forgotten  by  any  who  heard  it."  The  re- 
sponse to  the  many  calls  for  speeches  began  to 
try  even  the  younger  member  of  the  delegatian. 
He  writes,  "I  am  in  good  health,  1  am  thankful 
to  say,  but  it  is  very  fast  work,  and  the  meals 
are  so  unlike  my  own  in  time,  quality,  etc.,  that  I 
am  not  always  comfortable."  At  the  same  time 
he  says:  "Our  coming  to  the  new  school  has 
already  done  good,  and  a  deputation  will  be  in 
Edinburgh  and  in  Dublin.  Please  to  send  a  letter 
on  getting  this  to  Dr.  McCosh  telling  him  that 
the  new  school  deputation  will  be  in  Edinburgh, 
and  that  they  are  looking  to  him  to  care  for  them 
in  Ireland." 

In  the  correspondence  of  this  period  great 
comfort  is  taken  in  a  small  coin.  "Tell  Emily  I 
have  her  half-penny  as  a  memorial  of  her,  and 
often  look  at  it."  The  last  day  in  Dublin,  had  in 
fact  been  given  to  the  children.  It  is  one  of  the 
writer's  vivid  memories  of  going  in  Phoenix  Park 
for  a  last  "long  walk  "  with  the  father  who  was 
going  to  America.  The  children  had  heard  of  the 
expense  of  such  a  journey,  and  just  before  part- 
ing the  little  daughter,  about  six  years  of   age, 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        i6i 

slipped  a  half-penny  into  the  father's  hand.  "  It 
is  all  I  have,  but  it  may  help  towards  the  expense 
in  America."  It  certainly  did  help' to  cheer  the 
journey,  as  many  allusions  to  it  in  the  home  let- 
ters abundantly  prove. 

In  the  hurry  and  rush  of  those  eight  busy 
weeks  the  family  in  Eccles  Street  was  never  for- 
gotten. The  leaves  of  the  journal  have  a  ' '  bank- 
note "  for  Bolton's  collection  of  stamps  and  bills; 
a  "coin  or  two "  is  in  the  trunk  for  Robert's  col- 
lection. Alas,  the  shops  of  New  York  are  "en- 
tirely too  expensive  to  permit  of  the  purchase  of 
many  little  things  one  would  like  to  take  home 
as  keep-sakes,"  but  "no  doubt  I  will  find  some- 
thing for  the  rest  by  and  by."  From  Cincinnati 
the  plans  carried  the  party  to  Xenia,  Ohio,  and 
thence  to  Indianapolis,  and  every  occasion  for  a 
speech  or  a  public  meeting  was  made  the  most 
of  by  Mr.  Stuart  who  was  now  in  full  control. 
At  Springfield  the  life  and  death  of  Lincoln  is 
noted  with  tender  words.  In  the  struggle  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South,  my  father  had 
taken  a  definite  stand  in  a  speech  made  in  Glas- 
gow as  the  war  was  going  on,  on  the  side  of  the 
North.  Even  as  a  student  he  had  interested  him- 
self, as  we  have  seen,  in  the  liberation  movement. 
For  Lincoln  he  always  had  a  sincere  admiration 


i62  FIRST  JOURNEY 

mingled  with  regrets  that  he  lacked,  what  my 
father  thought  he  most  needed,  the  comforts  of 
an  active  militant  Christian  life. 

The  State  of  Illinois  impressed  the  traveller  im- 
mensely. He  writes,  "The  next  day  we  came 
by  Dayton,  to  the  capital  of  Missouri  (St.  Louis) 
about  260  miles,  and  right  across  the  whole  State 
of  Illinois,  one  of  the  finest  and  richest  countries 
I  have  ever  seen.  The  land  is  so  level  that  one 
sees  ten  miles,  and  so  fertile  that  it  needs  no 
manure  for  twenty  years  and  produces  100 
bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  ! "  In  St.  Louis, 
Springfield,  Lafayette  meetings  were  held  at 
which  my  father  preached,  and  then  the  party 
went  on  to  Chicago.  He  writes,  *'  1  am  not 
overworked,  though  I  do  not  like  the  living 
here,  and  am  better  at  home  with  you.  But  the 
profusion  of  things,  fruits  of  the  earth  especially 
that  are  eaten  is  something  wonderful.  The 
state  of  religion  is  much  like  as  with  us.  In 
Europe  people  do  not  enough  carry  religion  into 
their  business.  Here  I  think  they  carry  business 
into  their  religion  a  good  deal." 

Of  Chicago  the  impression  was  of  rush  and 
hurry.  "  It  is  the  Queen  of  the  West,  with 
200,000  people,  where  thirty  years  ago  there  were 
only  600!     We  get  crowded  meetings,  and  are 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        163 

wonderfully  reported,  as  you  will  see,  not  in 
wiiat  we  say,  but  how  we  say  it."  And  again, 
"We  are  carried  round  Sabbath-schools  to  no 
end,  and  Dr.  Denham  and  I  get  rid  of  a  good  deal 
of  perspiration.  Happily  we  have  plenty  of  iced 
water."  Crowded  meetings  in  Pittsburg  are 
mentioned,  and  thence  the  journey  was  to  Phila- 
delphia. Here  again  preaching,  speaking,  and 
visiting  schools,  institutions,  and  attending  public 
dinners  consumed  the  time,  until  atlast  my  father 
insisted  on  a  day  or  two  of  leisure  to  visit  Balti- 
more and  Washington,  both  of  which  cities  seem 
at  that  time  to  have  rather  disappointed  him, 
although  he  was  deeply  and  profoundly  moved 
by  the  graves  at  Arlington,  "where  rest  30,000 
soldiers,  sleeping  their  last  bivouac." 

Lecture  engagements  called  him  thence  to  Can- 
ada, and  from  there  down  through  the  New  Eng- 
land States,  speaking  on  the  way  at  Amherst, 
and  recalling  Jonathan  Edwards  as  he  passed 
Northampton.  On  the  23d  he  was  in  New  York 
again  and  found  that  arrangements  had  been 
made  for  him  to  preach  in  the  morning  for  Dr. 
Adams  (New  School)  and  in  the  afternoon  in 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Church  (Old  School),  and  at 
Dr.  Duvyea's  in  the  evening.  On  the  24th  he 
was  in  Princeton,  speaking  there  and  addressing 


i64  FIRST  JOURNEY 

the  Cliosophic  Society,  which  had  elected  him  a 
member.  Here  he  met  Dr.  Hodge  and  others. 
From  this  on  the  time  was  filled  with  various  ap- 
pointments and  visits  to  various  people,  including 
the  run  up  to  Canada,  already  mentioned,  and 
then  on  the  13th  of  July  passage  was  taken  on 
the  City  of  London,  for  the  old  home. 

This  trip  to  America  made  a  great  impression 
upon  him  of  the  vast  possibilities  for  good  or 
evil  that  lay  involved  in  the  tremendous  power 
and  wealth  he  saw  was  in  the  future.  Mr.  Stuart 
had  set  his  heart  on  having  him  come  to  America, 
even  before  this  visit,  but  the  idea  only  very 
vaguely  crossed  his  mind  that  he  himself  should 
ever  come,  but  in  one  place  he  says,  "  I  can 
hardly  overcome  the  idea  that  at  some  future 
time  some  of  the  children  will  be  on  this  conti- 
nent, where  things  are  done  on  so  much  larger  a 
scale  than  with  us." 

Looking  back  upon  his  first  visit  to  America, 
my  father  once  recorded  some  of  his  early 
memories  and  impressions  which  in  part  are  as 
follows: 

"  I  landed  from  the  City  of  New  York  steamer 
on  Manhattan  Island,  not  as  an  emigrant  nor  a 
mere  tourist,  but  to  discharge  an  honorable  and 
pleasant  duty  as  a  delegate  from  the    '  mother 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        165 

Church,'  in  Ireland  (for  so  we  may  truly  call 
her),  to  the  Presbyterian  Churches  in  Synod  and 
Assemblies  in  the  United  States.  Expecting  to 
be  only  a  couple  of  months  in  the  country,  and 
then  to  return  to  pastoral  duty  in  the  capital  of 
my  native  land,  I  meant,  of  course,  to  keep  eyes 
and  ears  very  wide  open,  and  to  carry  away  as 
much  as  possible  of — not  money,  for  my  ex- 
penses were  provided  for  by  the  body  repre- 
sented, nor  glory,  for  I  thought  myself  quite  un- 
fit for  the  task — but  knowledge  of  the  places,  the 
people,  and  the  institutions  of  which  I  had  read 
and  heard  from  childhood. 

"A  lovely  summer  day,  the  13th  May,  1867 — 
was  the  day  of  landing;  and,  like  most  others,  I 
looked  with  unbounded  admiration  upon  the 
scenery  opening  up  to  the  eye  as  one  enters  the 
Narrows  and  approaches  the  city.  There  is 
nothing  just  like  it  in  Europe  as  a  bit  of  scenery, 
and  there  is  nothing  at  all  like  its  magnificent, 
dignified  ferry-boats,  with  their  great  beams  in 
the  air,  not  to  speak  of  those  models  of  confi- 
dence and  impudence,  the  steam-tugs,  I  had  had 
the  advantage  of  a  few  days'  seasickness  in  the 
solitude  of  a  room,  knew  no  one  on  board,  and 
expected  to  see  dear  friends  on  the  American 
shore;    so    when    the    tugs    rushed    past,    and 


i66  FIRST  JOURNEY 

screamed,  '  Keep  out  of  my  way  if  you  want  to 
be  safe,'  it  was  natural  to  laugh  in  admiration. 

There  was  a  little  disenchantment  over  the 
rather  ragged  piers  in  great  contrast  with  the 
solid  cut-stone  docks  of  such  places  as  Liverpool, 
and  in  the  rather  rough  streets  over  which  one 
was  rolled,  but  it  was  not  forgotten  that  the 
country  was  new,  and  some  things  needed  to  be 
'  fixed  up.'  There  was  an  opportunity  given  to 
speak  the  very  night  of  the  first  day  on  the 
American  soil,  and  I  am  bound  to  say  gratefully 
that  the  country  has  continued  in  this  respect  as 
it  began  with  me. 

"Oh!  what  a  day  that  was  that  laid  bare,  in 
pleasant  sunshine,  the  glories  of  the  Hudson, 
right  and  left,  as  surveyed  from  the  steamboat. 
There  were  books  and  papers  for  the  way,  but 
they  had  a  holiday.  I  had  been  on  the  Rhine  and 
among  other  tempting  bits  of  European  scenery 
in  the  previous  spring.  There  were,  of  course, 
the  castles,  the  chalets  and  the  lingering  tradi- 
tions; but  for  grace,  dignity  and  interest  the 
Hudson  is  far  ahead  of  them,  and  well  prepared 
one  for  the  Falls  of  Niagara  the  next  day. 
'  Blood  is  thicker  than  water,'  and  the  Falls 
were  soon  forsaken  for  a  brother  and  a  group  of 
unknown  cousins  on  the  Canadian  side.     It  was 


TO  THE  UNITED  STATES        167 

good  to  see  an  old  aunt,  settled  in  Canada  about 
the  time  I  was  born,  and  to  hear  her  tell  of 
children  and  children's  children,  and  chuckle 
over  the  saying  of  the  neighbors  that  '  if  you 
threw  up  a  stone  anywhere,  it  would  fall  on 
one  of  them.'  Duties  really  began  at  Roch- 
ester, where  an  Assembly  met.  I  came  in 
after  midnight,  and  judge  of  my  horror  on 
finding  the  portmanteau  that  contained  the 
speeches  lost!  And,  to  add  to  the  terrors,  the 
speech  had  to  come  off  early  next  forenoon.  No 
matter.  There  was  an  opportunity  to  see  the 
noble  form  of  Dr.  Adams,  and  without  being 
told,  guess  his  commanding  position.  And  the 
speeches  got  themselves  off  at  Cincinnati,  and 
Xenia,  and  Indianapolis,  and  Chicago,  and  each 
day  brought  its  store  of  new  ideas,  and  it  did 
seem  too  bad  to  have  only  a  few  days  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  then  a  few  more  in  New  York,  and 
then  quit  the  continent  probably  forever!" 

The  voyage  home  was  uneventful.  At  first 
calm,  and  yet  very  slow.  The  notes  of  the  voy- 
age declare,  "This  ship  is  about  390  feet  long, 
100  feet  longer  than  the  City  of  New  York,  more 
steady,  but  her  machinery  is  defective,  and  she 
has  had  to  stop  three  times  to  allow  it  to  coal. 
The  table  is  good.     The  first  few  days  we  had 


i68  FIRST  JOURNEY 

fine  weather,  but  our  motion  was  slow,  one  day 
we  only  did  156  miles.  I  have  been  able  to 
preach  each  Sabbath  morning,  and  to  very  at- 
tentive audiences,  some  of  whom  wept.  One 
rough  sailor  declared  to  me  in  a  sort  of  '  aside ' 
on  deck,  that  *  he  could  listen  to  me  talking  to 
the  day  of  Pentecost,'  a  well  meant  though  ill- 
expressed  compliment.  I  have  read  a  good  deal 
on  board,  including  periodicals,  the  Edinburgh 
Review,  North  British  Review  and  Charles  King- 
sley's  'Two  Years  Ago'  and  'Yeast.'"  The 
landing  was  at  last  affected,  and  Dublin  was 
reached,  where  the  little  family  was  found  in 
restored  health.  For  while  away  the  two 
younger  children  had  been  ill.  At  once  was 
begun  the  ceaseless  round  of  visits  that  marked 
the  faithful  ministry  during  its  whole  range. 


VII.     THE    CALL    TO    AIVIERICA    AND 
ITS  ACCEPTANCE 


AMERICA  TO  GREAT  BRITAIN 

BY   REV.  JOHN   HALL,  D.  D.^ 

Mother  of  nations  vanquishing  the  earth ; 
Old  ocean  queen !  to  whom  we  owe  our  birth  ; 
Columbia,  mingling  with  thy  grief  her  tear, 
Sends  thee  her  greeting  on  this  sad  New-Year. 

There  have  been  strifes — in  woe,  they  are  forgot ; 
And  feuds — they  are  as  though  they  had  been  not: 
When  father-land  the  mournful  watch  is  keeping, 
The  scattered  household  needs  must  hear  the  weeping. 

Thrice  thirty  years  since  we  were  seeking  rest, 
A  callow  bird,  pushed  from  the  parent  nest; 
Now  strong,  and  glad  her  eagle  wing  to  fold. 
Her  memory  of  the  deed — not  she — grows  old. 

Grieve  not,  because  ye  sent  us  o'er  the  sea ; 
God  meant  it  well  for  truth  and  liberty. 
He  makes  us  great ;  so  let  these  clasping  hands 
Be  ever  clasped — for  blessing  to  the  lands. 

New  York,  Dec.  ij,  1871. 

•  Published  in  an  issue  of  the  New  York  Ledger,  in  which  also  some 
lines  by  Tennyson  appeared. 


170 


RISH    MAGNE" 


VII 

THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA  AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE 

HINTS  OF  ^  COMING  CALL.  ^N  t.4TLANTIC  MESSAGE. 
THE  CALL  rO  AMERICA  ACCEPTED.  REMONSTRANCES. 
REASONS  FOR  GOING.  CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  AMERICA. 
^N  IRISH  ESTIMATE  OF  SERVICE  RENDERED. 

EVEN  before  the  delegation  had  left  America, 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  Ses- 
sion had  considered  the  wisdom  of  calling  my 
father  to  the  vacant  pulpit,  and  had  cautious  ap- 
proaches made  to  him.  These  overtures  were 
not  however  taken  seriously  by  him,  and  in  his 
ignorance  of  local  conditions  he  could  give  them 
no  thought.  He  was  therefore  not  a  little  sur- 
prised to  learn  from  Mr.  George  H.  Stuart  that 
the  matter  was  being  definitely  pushed,  and  that 
he  would  be  compelled  to  consider  some  over- 
ture. The  letter  stating  this  was  followed  almost 
immediately  by  a  cable  from  Mr.  William  Walker, 
as  clerk  of  the  session,  saying,  "Large  meeting 
of  congregation  voted  you  cordial  and  unani- 
mous call." 
In  those  days  cables  were  not  as  common  as 

now.     After  twelve  years  of  seemingly  almost 
171 


172         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

fruitless  struggle  Mr.  Cyrus  Field  had  made  in 
1866  his  last  successful  effort.  Just  before  the 
starting  of  the  Great  Eastern  with  the  cable  on 
board,  a  number  of  clergymen  had  been  invited 
to  Valencia  to  inaugurate  with  appropriate  relig- 
ious services  the  undertaking.  Among  those  in- 
vited had  been  my  father;  and  it  was  with  a  feel- 
ing akin  to  awe  that  this  cable  message  a  few 
months  later  was  viewed  in  the  family  circle. 
Among  the  household  treasures  was  a  piece  of 
the  cable,  and  a  finely  illustrated  history  of  the 
undertaking.  These  were  all  again  examined 
and  admired  in  the  light  of  this  practical  example 
of  the  efficiency  of  the  Atlantic  cable. 

This  message  came  on  the  ist  of  August,  1867, 
and  was  at  once  taken  into  grave  consideration. 
Many  things  had  to  be  weighed  on  both  sides. 
The  aged  mother  in  the  north  of  Ireland  was 
deeply  moved  at  the  mere  prospect  of  having  the 
great  ocean  part  her  in  her  declining  days  from 
the  son  on  whom  she  now  gladly  and  freely 
leaned.  Her  one  comfort  was  that,  "he  would 
be  preaching  to  many  nations,  and  that  though 
her  hope  he  would  have  been  a  missionary  was 
not  fulfilled,  that  yet  at  least  his  voice  would 
bring  the  gospel  to  distantparts." 

Had  all  the  love  and  affection  been  made  man- 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  173 

ifest  that  "later  years  proved  existed,  the  parting 
from  Ireland  would  have  been  far  harder,  and 
the  path  of  duty  less  plain.  But  my  father  felt, 
and  to  an  inner  circle  guardedly  said,  that  his 
sympathies  were  with  a  set  of  ideas  and  a  policy 
plainly  not  favored  by  the  General  Assembly  as 
a  body.  He  was  an  outspoken  Liberal;  the  policy 
of  the  Assembly  was  to  work  with  the  Tory 
party  in  the  great  issues  at  least.  He  was  for 
disestablishment  and  thorough  disestablishment 
at  that;  the  Assembly  was — as  seen  in  its  action 
of  1868 — on  the  other  side.  He  was  on  the  side 
of  secular  and  undenominational  education;  the 
Assembly  was  not  heartily  in  favor  of  it,  although 
assenting  with  constant,  and  often  unjust  criti- 
cisms of  their  representatives  on  the  National 
Board  of  Education.  My  father  had  no  objection 
to  either  organ  or  hymns,  but  these  were  the 
burning  questions— hardly  settled  yet — on  which 
a  triumphant  majority  were  glad  year  after  year 
to  assert  their  power  to  stop  progress  by  de- 
structive conservatism.  Along  many  lines  my 
father  had  been  calling  down  the  criticisms  of  the 
"pillars"  and  "safe  "  counsellors  in  the  church 
by  demands  for  reforms  in  Sabbath-school  teach- 
ing, by  his  temperance  activity  and  by  pleas  to 
carry  on  the  evangelization  of  Ireland  along  the 


174         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

lines  laid  down  by  Dr.  Edgar.  There  was  little 
or  no  opposition  of  an  open  kind  to  my  father's 
restless  activity  along  these  and  other  lines;  but 
there  was  a  steady  quiet  suppressing  of  his  en- 
ergy. He  longed  for  "more  atmosphere,"  and 
said  so  confidentially  to  an  inner,  circle.  Yet  he 
loved  Ireland,  and  he  loved  Dublin.  He  clung 
with  a  tender  and  unceasing  affection,  not  only 
to  a  little  band  of  ministerial  friends,  but  to  num- 
berless families  all  over  the  country.  In  Belfast, 
in  Newry,  in  Cork  as  well  as  in  Dublin  his  heart 
was  bound  by  sweet  and  lasting  bonds  to  Chris- 
tian friends,  whom  he  never  forgot,  and  who 
never  forgot  or  betrayed  him. 

Great  as  was  the  pressure  put  upon  him  to  ac- 
cept the  call  voices  were  at  the  same  time 
lifted  up  by  intimate  friends  both  in  Ireland 
and  in  America  urging  him  to  consider  the 
step  carefully.  His  oldest  and  dearest  friend 
wrote: 

My  dear  Hall: 

It  is  not  my  place,  of  course,  to  interfere  in  that  most 
serious  business  of  your  going  to  New  York.  Serious  it  is,  in 
almost  every  aspect  of  it.  I  know  quite  well  you  are  not  the 
man  to  act  from  impulse,  and  that  you  have  deliberately 
weighed  the  matter  in  all  its  bearings.  I  am  not  certain 
whether  you  have  irrevocably  pledged  yourself  to  go,  nor  do  I 
wish  you  to  tell  me  whether  you  have  or  not.  But,  if  you  have 
NOT,  I  beseech  you  to  consider  the  position  of  responsibility  and 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  175 

influence  that  God  has  assigned  you  in  the  present  crisis  of  our 
ecclesiastical  and  national  history.  You  are,  I  am  quite  sure, 
satisfied  that  some  of  the  gravest  questions  that  have  ever  been 
discussed  in  our  church  in  our  time,  are  certain  to  come  up 
very  soon.  Vou  are  needed.  You  know  I  am  never  given  to 
flattery.  But  I  only  say  w^hat  I  think,  and  what  I  have  very, 
very  often  said  to  others,  that  of  all  the  men  in  our  church,  you 
are  the  man,  I  would  say,  we  cannot  spare.  God  is  not  tied  to 
any  individual  instrument,  it  is  true.  But  seeing  He  conde- 
scends to  raise  up,  and  to  qualify  instruments  for  His  own 
work,  we  are  not  dishonoring  nor  disturbing  Him  when  we 
recognize  the  qualifications  for  special  service.  He  has  Himself 
bestowed.  ...  I  write  in  confidence,  I  am  not  mentioning 
even  to  my  wife  that  I  am  writing  to  you.  It  is  as  well  not. 
I  can  speak  more  freely.  There  will  be  only  one  feeling  in 
Dr.  Kirkpatrick's  family  should  you  go — of  deep  and  poignant 
sorrow.  Those  young  people  are  all  exceedingly  attached  to 
you.  I  know  these  are  small  matters,  but  I  can  at  least  do  no 
harm  to  mention  them. 

The  one  thing  that  weighs  upon  my  mind  is,  that  you  are 
more  needed  for,  and  I  think,  considering  everything,  more 
fitted  for,  working  in  the  land  of  your  birth  (first  and  second) 
than  in  any  country  under  heaven.  If  the  Lord  still  opens  up 
your  way  to  remain  among  us,  no  one  will  be  more  gratified 
than  your  old  college  friend,  H.  Magee. 

To  J.  Hall, 

Aug.  ijth,  1867. 

From  an  Irish  friend  then  in  America  and  fa- 
miliar with  conditions  in  New  York  and  even  in 
some  degree  with  the  conditions  in  the  church 
he  asked  for  "  the  gloomy  side  "  of  the  call, 
and  received  a  very  sober  arid  careful  letter,  of 
which  some  abstracts  may  be  interesting. 


176         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

"  August  9th,  i86y. 

"  Dear  Dr.  Hall  :  — 

*****  * 

"  You  will  understand  that  my  object  is  to  lay 
before  you  such  facts  regarding  this  country  and 
the  church  as,  I  think  might  influence  your  de- 
cision as  to  coming  out  here,  and  I  will  do  it  as 
fairly  as  I  can,  for  I  would  not  on  my  account 
desire  you  to  come  out  and  then  be  disappointed 
by  finding  anything  different  from  what  you  had 
expected,  and  yet  I  cannot  tell  you  how  thankful 
I  should  feel  personally  if  the  Father  should  in  His 
kind  providence  bring  you  here  while  we  are 
still  here. 

"  In  the  first  place  the  church  has  not  been  in 
a  very  satisfactory  state.  Some  did  not  treat  Dr. 
Rice  at  all  as  they  ought  to  have  done,  and  the 

one  who  took  the  lead  was whom  you 

have  met.  Some  particularly  desired  another 
candidate  when  Dr.  Rice  was  elected,  and  they 
never,  therefore,  were  favorably  disposed  to 
him.  Besides,  he  came  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth,  and  his 
wife  and  most  of  his  friends  were  southern  peo- 
ple, and  his  not  preaching  political  sermons  was 
construed  by  his  enemies  into  a  sympathy  for 
the  south.     But  it  was  really  only  a  few  of  the 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  177 

extremists  carried  away  by  the  excitement  and 
passion  of  the  moment,  who  turned  against  him. 
The  great  mass  of  the  church  did  hot  want  po- 
litical preaching,  nay,  they  were  very  thankful 
not  to  have  it.  They  loved  the  noble  old  doctor 
most  intensely,  no  one  had  any  idea  how  in- 
tensely, until  he  was  compelled  to  leave  them. 
They  would  have  done  anything  to  have  retained 
his  connection  with  the  church.  But  he  would 
not  remain  while  he  could  not  work  and  he  was 
completely  broken  down.  Of  his  own  free  will 
he  resigned,  greatly  to  the  sorrow  of  the  great 
portion  of  the  congregation.  In  your  case  how- 
ever the  church  is  perfectly  unanimous,  and  you 
come  without  being  mixed  up  with  either  po- 
litical party.  ...  I  fear  however  should  you 
come  out  you  will  miss  very  much  the  congenial 
circle  of  ministers  which  you  must  break  from 
in  leaving  Dublin.  You  will  find  a  prejudice 
against  you  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  smaller 
clergymen  here.  It  is  natural  that  they  should 
feel  slighted  by  a  call  being  given  to  you  a  for- 
eigner, which  to  some  extent  will  be  strengthened 
by  the  prejudice  against  Irishmen  in  particular; 
and  there  is  a  strong  party,  both  in  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  out  of  it  called  the  'Native 
American'  party,  who  would  not  scruple  to  use 


178         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

the  cry  of  foreign  birth  against  you,  if  it  suited 
their  ends,  and  any  cry  of  this  kind  is  dangerous 
with  a  people  like  the  Americans,  who  are  natur- 
ally illogical  and  impulsive,  and  therefore  dog- 
matic and  apt  to  be  carried  away  by  their  feelings 
so  as  to  see  the  end  aimed  at  only,  and  for  means 
do,  what,  after  calmer  consideration  they  are 
sorry  for. 

"  As  to  America  itself  (remember  I  am  trying 
to  bring  up  all  the  objections  I  can  at  present) 
you  would  be  much  pained  by  the  toadyism  to 
the  moneyed  aristocracy  (by  far  the  worst  kind 
of  an  aristocracy)  and  by  the  purse-proudness  of 
many  (even  among  Christians)  and  by  the  gen- 
eral feeling  of  the  omnipotence  of  the  Almighty 
dollar. 

"The  education  of  your  children  would,  I 
think,  be  another  serious  obstacle.  I  would  be 
hooted  at  for  hinting  at  such  a  thing,  but  my  feel- 
ing is  that  here  the  education  is  very  superficial; 
though  I  confess  I  do  not  intimately  know  it,  but 
only  the  results.  .  .  .  Again  the  rates  of  liv- 
ing are  so  high  that  in  Ireland  I  believe  one  could 
be  more  comfortable  on  ^^500  than  on  ;j^i,ooo 
here,  and  in  many  things  the  tastes,  feelings  and 
ideas  of  Americans  so  differ  from  ours,  that  I 
think  you  would  never  be  so  happy  here  as  in 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  179 

Ireland,  and  indeed  I  believe  it  would  be  a  per- 
sonal sacrifice  your  coming  out  here,  which 
should  only  be  made  in  consideration  of  the  im- 
portant place  you  are  called  to  fill,  believing  that 
it  is  the  Master's  call,  and  that  it  is  He  who  has 
opened  such  a  wide  field  for  you  to  labor  in." 

Not  all  the  letter  is  quite  in  this  strain,  at  the 
same  time  other  and  personal  considerations  are 
dwelt  upon.  My  father  had  in  no  way  com- 
mitted himself  in  his  letters  to  Mr.  Stuart  and  at 
one  point  in  his  deliberations  words  from  certain 
quarters  urging  him  to  stay  would,  probably 
have  decided  him  for  Ireland.  Those  words 
were  not  spoken.  He  felt  that  he  could  be 
spared,  and  that  the  call  from  over  the  water 
was  the  voice  of  Providence,  and  he  said  finally 
"yes." 

The  moment  that  word  was  spoken  there  was 
such  a  tremendous  appeal  made,  and  such  a 
commotion  in  many  circles  that  my  father  was 
fairly  stunned.  He  had  always  with  the  utmost 
vigor  upheld  Presbyterianism  against  the  claims, 
often  he  thought  haughty  and  arrogant,  of  the 
Established  Church.  Courteously  yet  firmly  and 
constantly  he  battled  for  what  he  considered  a 
more  thoroughgoing  and  scriptural  Protestantism 
than  the  somewhat  High  Church  Establishment. 


i8o         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

What  then  was  his  pleasure  and  his  astonishment 
to  find  some  of  the  very  warmest  and  strongest 
protests  against  his  going  coming  from  those 
whom  he  had  already  begun  to  put  his  armor 
on  to  fight.  The  Roman  Catholics  had  good 
words  for  him,  and  letters  came  from  far-off 
Connaught  asking  that  he  stay  and  fight  out  the 
battle  of  the  spelling-book  which  he  had  so 
bravely  carried  on.  The  disestablishment  party 
in  the  church  saw  their  supposed  feeble  minority 
left  without  a  leader;  and  now  earnest  words 
were  spoken  by  even  those  whose  opposition 
and  silence  had  made  my  father  feel  that  as  a 
young  man  in  a  very  leading  position  his  place 
was  one  of  great  difficulty,  even  to  the  imperil- 
ling the  peace  of  the  church.  He  profoundly  felt 
that  after  the  struggles  in  which  the  church  had 
been  engaged,  and  in  the  face  of  the  difficulties 
without,  peace  within  was  a  first  necessity. 
To  secure  that  peace  was  one  of  the  motives  that 
led  him  to  be  willing  to  go.  Now  he  had  said 
"yes,"  and  all  protests  were  in  vain.  Friends  of 
my  father — I  never  heard  him  himself  complain 
of  it, — felt  that  the  Rutland  Square  congregation 
had  not  dealt  generously  with  him.  He  had  made 
pecuniary  sacrifices  to  come  to  them.  When 
Mr.  Findlater  built  the  church  he  distinctly  inti- 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  i8i 

mated,  in  the  letter  already  quoted,  that  he  ex- 
pected the  congregation  to  support  the  ministry 
liberally.  There  had  been  no  adequate  recogni- 
tion of  the  greatly  increased  labors  flung  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  younger  man,  by  the  larger  con- 
gregation and  the  declining  strength  of  Dr. 
Kirkpatrick.  Now  that  he  was  going  the  mis- 
take was  seen,  but  it  was  too  late.  It  only  re- 
mained by  great  public  meetings  and  addresses, 
as  well  as  by  memorial  silver  to  show  how 
strongly  fastened  were  the  ties  that  bound  the 
pastor  to  the  people  he  was  so  soon  to  leave. 
To  his  friend  Dr.  Magee  he  wrote  at  once  saying : 

II  Eccles  Street,  Dublin, 

i8th  Augtist,  iSdy. 
My  Dear  Friend  : 

Your  kind  letter  certainly  moved  my  feelings  very  much, 
though  my  judgment  remains  as  I  had  formed  it  after  a  careful 
and  serious  survey  of  all  the  circumstances  which  a  minister 
should  take  into  view  in  determining  his  duty  in  a  case  of  this 
kind.  Everything  that  formed  a  reason  for  my  coming  to 
Dublin  has  its  stronger  counterpart  in  reference  to  New  York. 
If  the  Church  is  apparently  dependent  on  such  men  as  I  am, 
remaining,  it  may  be  the  best  discipline  for  her  in  the  present 
temper  of  the  majority  of  her  members  to  have  a  few  such  re- 
moved. I  am  sensible  of  the  strength  of  the  case  made  by  the 
Rutland  Square  people,  but  then  any  circumstance  of  ease, 
comfort,  society  or  business  would  withdraw  any  family  among 
them  from  us.  Many  whom  I  know  most  as  friends  are  prov- 
identially removed  or  removing  and  I  should  have  only  to  do  in 
detail,  what  is  now  to  be  done  with  much  pain  to  myself  at 
once.     I    always   valued — much    more    than    I    can   say — the 


i82         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

sympathy  and  affection  of  a  few  college  friends  among  whom 
you  stand  in  a  foremost  place,  but  I  often  felt  as  if  the  prom- 
inence of  the  place  I  was,  without  any  fault  of  mine,  put  in, 
and  the  multiplicity  of  duties  to  be  done,  deprived  me  of  the 
enjoyment  of  as  much  of  this  blessing  as  I  might  otherwise 
have  had.  I  am  glad  of  the  good-feeUng  of  the  young  people, 
to  which  you  kindly  allude,  but  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  at 
all  just  to  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  and  myself  to  alter  the  opinion  I  had 
formed,  and  in  some  measure  indicated,  on  account  of  the  new 
proposals.!  He  and  perhaps  some  others — of  whom  I  know 
you  were  not  one — blamed  me  for  setting  him  aside  (or  sanc- 
tioning that  course)  partially — how  much  more  if  I  were  a 
party  to  doing  it  altogether  ?  Nor,  in  other  points  of  view, 
would  the  proposed  arrangement  long  continue  consistently 
with  our  self-respect,  independence  of  feeling,  and  general 
comfort.  But  my  reason  for  going,  though  founded  on  a  con- 
joint view  of  all  the  circumstances,  rest  more  on  the  facts  in 
connexion  with  New  York,  and  if  spared  to  live  and  labor 
there,  I  shall  always  retain  the  friendships  of  other  and  less 
care-laden  times,  and  always  be  to  you  as  I  am  sure  you  will 
be  to  me  a  sympathizing,  cordially  appreciating,  college  and 

Christian  friend, 

J.  Hall. 

Meantime  letters  in  abundance  pressing  the 
claims  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church 
came  to  hand,  and  the  news  of  the  hearty  char- 
acter of  the  call  gave  an  additional  reason  for 
prompt  acceptance.  The  session  of  the  Church 
had  issued  a  circular  to  the  members  who  were 
scattered  for  the  vacation,  as  follows: 

!  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  had  intimated  generously  to  the  congrega- 
tion that  he  was  ready  to  step  aside  to  enable  them  to  retain  his 
fellow-minister. 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  183 

New  York,  July  18,  iSdj. 
Dear  Sir  : 

The  Session  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  Fifth  Avenue, 
corner  of  Nineteenth  Street,  respectfully  calls  your  attention  to 
the  communication  which  follows  : 

Those  members  of  the  congregation  who  have  had  the  op- 
portunity of  hearing  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  of  Dublin,  preach, 
have,  we  believe,  without  exception,  expressed  a  desire  that  he 
should  be  called  to  our  Church.  In  the  scattered  condition  of 
our  congregation,  usual  at  this  season  of  the  year,  we  do  not 
feel  justified  in  calling  a  meeting  to  consider  the  subject  with- 
out giving  an  opportunity  to  all  members  of  the  congregation 
to  be  present,  and  to  express  their  views. 

We,  therefore,  take  this  method  of  informing  you  that  a 
meeting  of  the  congregation  will  be  held  on  Wednesday 
EVENING,  July  31st,  at  the  Lecture  Room  of  the  Church,  at 
half-past  seven  o'  clock. 

At  that  meeting  it  is  our  intention  to  nominate  Rev.  John 
Hall,  D,  D.,  as  Pastor  of  our  Church,  and  to  recommend  him 
most  cordially. 

We  are  happy  to  say  that  we  have  encouragement  to  believe 
that  he  will  accept  a  call  from  us,  if  he  can  obtain  the  consent 
of  his  people. 

The  circumstances  of  the  case,  are,  in  our  judgment,  such  as 
to  make  early  action  necessary. 

If,  from  any  cause,  you  should  be  unable  to  attend  the  meeting, 
you  will  very  much  oblige  us  by  addressing  a  note  to  William 
Walker,  No.  69  Liberty  Street,  or  either  of  the   undersigned. 
Stating  your  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  proposed  call. 
We  are, 

Yours  respectfully, 

William  Walker, 
Thomas  U.  Smith, 
James  M.  Halsted, 
David  Hoadley, 
Henry  G.  De  Forest, 
Henry  Day. 


i84         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

The  official  letter  giving  notice  of  the  formal 
call  and  enclosing  the  papers  was  delayed,  but 
the  clerk  of  the  session,  and  the  lifelong  friend 
of  my  father,  Mr,  William  Walker,  sent  at  once 
a  letter  stating  the  full  result.     The  letter  read : 

New  York,  Aug.  i,  iSbj. 
My  dear  Sir  : 

I  have  but  little  time  before  the  sailing  of  the  steamer  to 
state  that  we  had  an  unexpectedly  large  meeting  of  our  con- 
gregation last  evening,  and  with  entire  unanimity  a  call  was 
made  out  for  you.  I  received  in  addition  about  forty  letters 
(representing  probably  seventy-five  persons,)  from  those  who 
could  not  be  present  at  the  meeting  expressing  their  cordial  ap- 
proval of  the  proposed  call. 

The  moderator  was  pleased  to  say  that  he  had  never  been 
present  at  a  congregational  meeting  so  perfectly  harmonious  in 
their  views. 

The  salary  proposed  is  ^6,000  in  gold  and  the  free  occupa- 
tion of  a  suitable  dwelling-house.  In  addition  the  trustees 
were  instructed  to  pay  the  expense  of  bringing  your  family 
here. 

I  telegraphed  you  this  day  informing  you  of  the  call. 

The  necessary  papers  will  be  forwarded  as  soon  as  they  can 
be  prepared. 

With  the  earnest  prayer  that  your  decision  may  be  such  that 
God  may  be  glorified  and  His  cause  promoted,  I  am  very  truly 
Your  brother  in  Christ, 

Wm.  Walker, 

To  this  letter  my  father  replied  as  below: 

Dublin,  loth  August,  1867. 
My  dear  Sir  : 

I  have  received  your  kind  communication  and  several 
others  on  the  same  subject.     I  have  weighed  with  much  concern 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  185 

all  the  circumstances  of  which  I  think  a  minister  should  take  ac- 
count in  forming  his  judgment,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  alter  the 
opinion  of  which  you  and  other  friends  have  had  indications 
already,  that  I  should  accept  the  invitation  of  your  Church  and 
remove  to  New  York.  The  fact  that  I  did  not  take  any  step 
towards  a  settlement  in  America,  that  I  never  contemplated  it, 
the  great  and  commanding  importance  of  the  field,  the  una- 
nimity of  the  members,  and  the  urgent  counsel  of  leading  min- 
isters of  the  American  Church  are  among  the  principal  reasons 
that  have  led  me — through  a  most  painful  struggle  with  feelings 
of  personal  and  local  attachment — to  this  conclusion. 

I  have  intimated  my  opinion  to  the  congregation  of  Rutland 
Square  through  the  Session,  and  upon  their  taking  certain  steps 
and  begging  my  reconsideration  of  the  case,  I  have  again  re- 
ported my  unaltered  opinion  to  them.  I  shall  be  guided  by 
their  convenience  (as  my  colleague  is  just  now  in  Amsterdam 
at  the  Evangelical  Alliance  Conference),  as  to  the  time  of  ask- 
ing the  leave  of  the  presbytery  to  resign  ;  but  this,  and  I  trust 
all  other  necessary  steps  can  be  taken  so  as  to  admit  of  my  re- 
moval to  New  York  with  my  family  during  the  month  of 
October.  The  probable  time  of  the  equinoctial  gales,  the 
time  of  a  suitable  steamer's  sailing  and  other  circumstances 
must  determine  the  exact  time  of  the  month,  and  of  this 
you  shall  have  the  earliest  intimation  possible  in  course  of 
post. 

The  cordial  and  harmonious  action  of  the  people  is  I  trust 
an  indication  that  this  thing  is  of  the  Lord,  and  I  hope  they 
will  not  fail  to  beseech  Him  to  crown  the  arrangement  wijji 
His  own  blessing.  I  am  deeply  sensible  of  the  importance  of 
the  work  to  which  I  go,  and  I  shall  enter  upon  it  in  dependence 
on  Divine  aid,  and  in  expectation  of  that  confidence  ^jjd  co- 
operation of  Session  and  congregation  of  which  it  has  been  my 
happiness  to  enjoy  so  much  hitherto.  Believe  me  tg  be,  dear 
Mr.  Walker, 

Yours  most  faithfully  in  the  truth, 

Jq^n  Hall. 

Wm.  Walker.  Esquire. 


i86         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

The  parting  from  Dublin  was  made  very  seri- 
ous by  the  expressions  on  every  hand  of  the  loss 
the  Church  at  large  and  the  city  sustained.  Many 
interests  had  to  be  cared  for.  The  Evangelical 
Witness  passed  into  other  hands,  and  became  a 
weekly  paper  of  great  power,  and  is  still  the 
leading  organ  of  the  Presbyterian  church  as  the 
Belfast  Witness.  The  national  education  cause 
interested  my  father  to  the  end  of  his  life,  and  he 
saw  the  complete  triumph  of  his  views  before 
many  years  had  passed.  The  Episcopal  church 
was  disestablished,  and,  as  he  had  predicted, 
prospered  as  never  before  on  that  very  account. 
National  education  won  its  way  and  compelled 
the  adhesion  of  even  the  extreme  Roman  Catho- 
lic party.  The  Presbyterians  flung  off  the  lead- 
ing strings  of  the  Tory  party  and  became  intelli- 
gently and  independently  liberal,  securing  their 
own  representation  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  ceasing  from  that  day  on  to  be  the  mere 
"tail  to  the  Tory  kite." 

It  would  be,  at  this  date,  impossible  to  repro- 
duce and  tiresome  to  attempt  it,  the  many 
printed  estimates  and  criticisms  of  the  eighteen 
years  of  public  service  in  Ireland.  Yet  one  esti- 
mate in  the  Evangelical  Witness  after  it  had 
passed  from  under  his  control  is  worth  repro- 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  187 

duction,  as  it  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Croskerry  of  Londonderry,  who  at  that  time 
wielded  large  influence  and  whose  services  in 
connection  with  the  Evangelical  IVitness  are  still 
fresh  in  the  minds  of  Irish  readers.  The  article 
condensed  somewhat  was  as  follows: 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hall. 
"  Our  gifted  predecessor,  after  a  brief  but  dis- 
tinguished ministry  of  eighteen  years,  has  left  his 
native  country  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  the  service  of  American  Presbyterianism. 
His  departure  is  a  subject  of  universal  and  un- 
feigned regret.  It  is,  however,  a  subject  of  just 
pride  and  congratulation  that  he  will  nobly  rep- 
resent, in  another  land,  the  power  and  versatility 
of  that  Scotch-Irish  race  which  the  historian, 
Bancroft,  has  glorified  in  connection  with  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  history  of  America.  It  is 
almost  unnecessary  to  say  to  Irish  Presbyterians 
what  Dr.  Hall  was  to  the  church  of  his  fathers. 
The  pulpit  was  the  throne  of  his  power.  He 
was  no  talker  of  drawling  platitudes  or  explana- 
tory futilities,  with  affected  rhetoric  or  artificial 
turns  of  phrase,  or  mental  inanity,  whose  ser- 
mons act  upon  part  of  a  congregation  like  chlo- 
roform,  while  they   drive  another   portion   into 


i88         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

thinking  of  nothing,  a  third  into  wondering 
when  the  preacher  will  be  done,  a  fourth  into 
ill-natured  criticism,  and  a  fifth  out  of  church  al- 
together. He  was  something  more  than  a  mere 
pounder  of  texts  in  a  doctrinal  mortar;  some- 
thing more  than  a  dry,  didactic  talker  after  modes 
beaten  flat  by  the  incessant  hammering  of  cen- 
turies. In  fact,  Dr.  Hall  was  one  of  the  freshest 
preachers  of  the  age.  He  preached,  too,  as  he 
talked,  with  a  fine  conversational  freedom  and 
naturalness,  and  was  so  singularly  lucid  and 
happy  in  expression  that  he  was,  to  our  mind, 
the  Goldsmith  and  Franklin,  in  one,  of  the  Irish 
pulpit.  His  sermons — some  of  them,  if  rumor  is 
to  be  credited,  like  Jonah's  gourd,  the  offspring 
of  a  single  night — are  powerful  from  their  heav- 
enly unction,  their  beseeching  tenderness,  their 
popular  scope,  and,  above  all,  their  wide  range 
of  analogical  illustration.  He  was,  indeed,  sin- 
gularly skillful  in  analogies,  in  the  structure  of 
those  'aerial  pontoons'  which  bridge  across  the 
literal  and  the  figurative.  It  is,  perhaps,  the 
highest  praise  of  Dr.  Hall's  sermons  and  speeches 
that  they  do  not  read  well,  for  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  newspaper  speech  which  is  polished 
and  rounded,  and  Ciceronian  in  its  periods,  is 
anything  but  popular  or  pleasing  to  an  audience. 


AND  ITS  ACCEPTANCE  189 

We  must  say,  however,  that  the  speeches  of  our 
gifted  friend  were  such  fresh  and  familiar  tran- 
scripts of  good  sense  and  feeling,  with  a  certain 
rich  zest  and  flavor  and  power  about  them,  that 
the  reader  could  always  associate  the  image  of 
the  speaker  with  every  paragraph,  and  his  ear 
seemed  to  catch  and  recognize  the  very  tones  of 
living  address.  His  speeches  were  always  short. 
Let  it  be  said  to  his  credit  that  he  always  ex- 
hibited, in  debate,  a  high-bred  Christian  courtesy, 
and  that  he  abstained  from  all  those  weapons  of 
fierce  and  sarcastic  recrimination  which  do  so 
much  to  lower  the  moral  status  as  well  as  lessen 
the  influence  of  the  ministry. 

"We  cannot  well  estimate  the  amount  of  his 
various  labors  for  our  denominational  benefit, 
whether  as  a  preacher,  as  a  journalist,  or  as  a 
director  of  education.  For  six  years,  in  the  midst 
of  endless  concerns  of  public  and  private  ur- 
gency, in  the  metropolis  of  the  country,  where 
he  was  surrounded  by  all  the  social  temptations  of 
the  popular  preacher,  he  sustained  the  Evangel- 
ical Witness,  without  a  farthing  of  help  from 
public  or  private  funds,  and  did  vast  service  to 
the  Presbyterian  cause  by  defending  and  explain- 
ing Presbyterianism,  by  correcting  the  errors  and 
chastising  the  heresies  of  the  times,  by  rebuking 


igo         THE  CALL  TO  AMERICA 

the  exclusiveness  and  intolerance  of  Churchmen, 
and,  above  all,  by  cherishing  the  literary  spirit 
in  our  ministers.  For  nine  years,  he  was  occu- 
pied in  raising  Dublin  Presbyterianism  to  that 
proud  and  commanding  position  it  held  in  the 
days  when  Joseph  Boyse  preached  to  a  thousand 
hearers  in  Wood  Street,  including  the  Damers, 
and  Langfords,  and  Loftuses,  of  high  descent; 
and  for  eighteen  years  he  has  been  conspicuous, 
in  the  ranks  of  his  brethren,  not  merely  for  great 
eloquence  and  great  force  of  character,  but  as  a 
man  of  unblemished  integrity,  of  tried  courage, 
of  large  benevolence,  of  unaffected  piety — a  man 
whose  views  were  always  tolerant  and  liberal, 
his  convictions  deep  and  hearty,  with  few  antip- 
athies and  many  sympathies,  yet  his  career,  in 
all  its  stages,  marked  by  decision.  We  can  think 
of  his  life  proudly  and  thankfully,  as  of  the 
course  of  a  river  filling  its  channel  from  bank  to 
bank,  moving  onwards  by  the  force  of  its  own 
ample  stream,  and,  with  effortless  ministry, 
watering  the  fields  and  the  flowers  on  either 
side." 


VIII.     THE  MINISTRY  IN  NINETEENTH 
STREET  CHURCH 


A  PRAYER 

I  come  to  Thee,  O  gracious  Lord, 
As  taught  in  Thy  most  holy  word 
In  Christ  Thy  Son,  I  do  believe, 
And  for  His  sake  the  world  I  leave. 

Teach  me  in  faith  and  hope  to  live, 
And  to  this  end  Thy  spirit  give. 
That  I  may  run  the  appointed  race, 
Sustain  me  by  Thy  heavenly  grace. 

Guide  me  through  life,  supply  my  needs, 
Keep  me  from  all  unrighteous  deeds. 
And  when  death  comes  oh  !  let  it  be 
That  I  may  live,  O  Lord,  with  Thee. 

— ^JoHN  Hall. 


192 


VIII 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH 

ARRIVAL  IN  NEW  YORK.  7HE  NEW  YORK  HOME  THE 
FIFTH  ^[^ENUE  CHURCH'S  HISTORY.  THE  'T^EUNION 
IDEALS  OF  EDUCATION.  IDEALS  IN  PREACHING.  IMMEDIATE 
SUCCESS.     METHODS.     PASTORAL  WORK. 

IT  was   a  beautiful  warm  autumn  day  when 
after  a  long,  but  on  the  whole  pleasant  trip, 
the    extra    Cunard    Steamship    Aleppo   brought 
my  father  and  his  family  to  the  dock  at  New 
York.     A  long-trusted  and    loved   housekeeper 
and  two  servants  accompanied  the  party.     The 
four  little  boys  all  arrayed  in  Scotch  caps  and  the 
belts  and  blouses  worn  in  those  days  by  school 
children  in  Ireland,  but  unknown  in  America,  are 
said  to  have  attracted  an  attention  of  which  the 
wearers    were    happily   unconscious.      Nothing 
could  have  exceeded  the  kindness  and  thought- 
fulness  of  those  who  had  made  provision  for  the 
comfort  of  the  future  minister.     The  dwelling- 
house  was  in  every  way  suitable,  and  was  most 
fitly  furnished.     In  a  letter  of  that  year  (9th  of 
December,  1867),  the  impressions  made  are  de- 
scribed in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Hamilton  Magee  : 
193 


194  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

My  Dear  Friend  : 

As  I  write  in  the  dining-room,  the  living-room  of  our  house, 
for  here  the  drawing-room  is  called  "  parlor,"  you  and  the  other 
brethren  look  down  on  me  from  over  the  clock,  and  recall  all 
the  days  and  evenings  of  labor  and  enjoyment  in  Dublin.  The 
Lord's  goodness  has  been  signal  and  conspicuous.  I  feel  as 
much  at  home  as  if  the  weeks  had  been  months,  to  say  the  least 
of  it.  Our  communion — held  yesterday — was  exceedingly 
pleasant,  very  like  Rutland  Square,  only  that  the  afternoon 
time  is  given  to  it.  We  received  about  thirty  new  communi- 
cants, nearly  twenty  of  them  on  profession  of  faith  which,  in 
some  instances  is  made  at  an  age  we  should  count  childhood  at 
home.  I  have  begun  with  ordinary  sermons  that  I  might  not 
pitch  the  standard  of  expectation  higher  than  I  could  honestly 
keep  up — have  eschewed  all  attempts  at  sensationalism,  and  told 
the  people  that  our  reliance  must  be  upon  the  steady,  patient 
teaching  of  divine  truth.  So  far  the  Church  displays  all  the 
signs  of  interest.  The  building  is  comfortable ;  the  elders,  I 
thmk  right-minded  men,  and  I  suppose  I  have  heard  as  many 
as  twenty  or  thirty  laymen  offer  up  prayer  in  public  very  ap- 
propriately. There  is  a  fine  field  here  for  work,  and  a  readi- 
ness I  think  to  value  an  evangelical  ministry.  I  hope  to  begin 
a  down-town  mission  service  on  Friday  evenings — we  live  "  up- 
town." This  I  find  surprises  the  folk,  the  approved  way 
hitherto  being  for  the  up-town  people  to  pay  students,  etc.,  to  do 
this  work.  Mission-schools  are  the  hobby  of  our  congregation, 
and  they  are  good,  but  skilled  labor  is  a  little  wanted.  I  hope 
to  begin  my  Bible-class  for  ladies  by  the  opening  of  the  year. 
Preparation  is  no  more  difficult  here  than  at  home,  and  I  have 
written  several  sermons — strange  as  it  may  seem — since  I 
came  ! 

Now   I  want  you  to  tell  the  dear  brethren  of  the  ministers' 
meeting — that  I  am  trying  to  be  what  they  would  have  me  (be) 
as  their  representative  in  New  York.     .     .     . 
Ever,  my  dear  Hamilton, 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

J.  Hall. 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    195 

The  Church  itself  had  had  a  most  honorable 
history  which  perhaps  had  up  to  that  time 
reached  its  climax  in  the  long  and  most  success- 
ful ministry  of  Dr.  James  Alexander,  the  imme- 
diate predecessor  of  Dr.  Rice,  whose  failing  health, 
and,  perhaps,  supposed  southern  sympathies,  had 
prevented  his  undoubted  worth  and  ability  being 
fully  recognized.  The  war  had  closed,  and  many 
southern  people  found  themselves  attracted  by 
the  theology  of  the  Old  School  to  which  wing  the 
Church  naturally  had  belonged,  and  by  the  fact 
that  Dr.  Rice  did  not  say  anything  that  was  likely 
to  wound  their  feelings.  There  were  however 
also  intensely  northern  partisans.  It  was  the 
good  fortune  of  the  Church  to  secure  as  a  min- 
ister one  who  could  unite  both  wings.  The  con- 
gregation had  worshipped  in  several  buildings. 
The  old  Cedar  Street  Church  having  been  built  in 
1808.  Then  the  Church  moved  to  Duane  Street, 
which  building  was  erected  in  1835.  In  1852  a 
new  building  on  Fifth  Avenue  and  Nineteenth 
Street  was  entered,  and  in  this  building  my  father 
began  his  New  York  ministry.  The  Church  still 
is  used  having  been  moved  stone  by  stone  to 
Fifty-seventh  Street  near  Eighth  Avenue,  where 
with  some  changes  it  stands  as  in  the  former 
days.     The  traditions  of  the  Church   carried  it 


196  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

over  to  the  Old  School,  but  in  the  congregation 
were  New  School  men,  attracted  by  the  elo- 
quence and  the  learning  of  Dr.  Alexander.  Here 
again  it  was  my  father's  good  fortune  to  be  iden- 
tified in  no  way  with  the  old  dispute.  Naturally 
attracted  to  the  older  theology,  he  found  much 
that  was  sympathetic  in  the  warmer  evangelical 
spirit  of  the  New  School  thought.  Of  Albert 
Barnes  he  once  wrote  :  ^ 

"And  then  came  the  end  of  Albert  Barnes' 
labors.  It  was  like  the  life  that  preceded  it,  life 
and  death  of  a  piece.  Meek,  laborious,  system- 
atic, gentle,  he  sat  in  the  chair  of  a  departed 
friend  to  give  comfort  to  the  survivors,  when  the 
Lord's  messenger  touched  him,  and  said,  '  Arise, 
and  follow  me;'  and  he  arose  and  entered 
through  the  gates  into  the  city,  wondering,  we 
may  well  believe,  whether  it  was  a  vision,  or 
whether  that  was  true  which  was  done  by  the 
angel.  But  it  was  soon  all  real  ;  all  happy  ;  all 
homelike;  'absent  from  the  body,  and  at  home 
with  the  Lord.' " 

For  Dr.  William  Adams'  affection  and  admira- 
tion mingled  from  their  first  meeting  at  the  New 
School  Assembly  in  Rochester  in  1867  to  the  close 
of  Dr.  Adams'  life.     The  stately  dignity  of  the 

1  The  American  Messenger,  March,  187 1. 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH     197 

man,  together  with  the  gentle  pervasive  courtesy 
in  tone  and  manner  that  so  distinguished  the 
great  New  School  leader,  appealed  with  special 
power  to  my  father.  Quite  frequently,  particu- 
larly in  his  earlier  experience  in  America  he  was 
offended  by  the  "slap-dash,  slap-on-the-back " 
(as  he  called  it)  type  of  minister,  who  mistakes 
rude  familiarity  for  ease,  and  substitutes  brusque- 
ness  for  straightforwardness.  He  had  been 
naturally  thrown  as  a  delegate  from  Ireland  into 
connection  with  both  Assemblies,  and  the  at- 
tachments thus  formed  he  used  to  good  effect  in 
the  following  years  of  rapid  approach  on  the 
part  of  the  two  Assemblies. 

Already  in  1867  men  were  talking  about  a  pos- 
sible reunion  of  the  Church.  It  was  impossible 
for  one  coming  so  recently  to  the  country  to  take 
with  good  grace  any  leading  part  in  such  a  move- 
ment. Yet  it  was  with  earnest  and  hopeful 
solicitude  that  he  watched  each  step  towards  such 
a  consummation,  and  no  one  rejoiced  more  sin- 
cerely in  the  ultimate  result  than  did  the  new- 
comer to  American  shores.  The  union  was  com- 
pleted in  1869  when  at  Pittsburg  the  two  As- 
semblies came  together,  and  on  the  plan  of 
mutual  forbearance  and  reasonable  liberty  the 
Church  became  one.     In  accordance  with  his  in- 


198  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

stincts  my  father  turned  at  once  to  the  United 
Church  for  a  better  support  for  educational  insti- 
tutions, and  particularly  for  a  larger  and  deeper 
conception  of  the  culture  and  learning  needed  in 
the  ministry.  In  an  appeal  to  the  United  Church, 
headed,  "What  Next?"  he  urged  the  chief  ad- 
vantages of  the  reunion.  He  asked  in  the 
columns  of  the  Evangelist, 

"And  for  what  are  we  one  ?  To  overshadow 
or  absorb  other  churches  ?  No.  That  were  a 
poor  and  unchristian  ambition.  Let  our  Metho- 
dist brethren  cry  aloud  'ye  must  be  born  again,' 
and  sanctify  social  sympathies;  let  our  Congrega- 
tional friends  assert  all  human  liberties  under 
divine  lordship — the  very  freaks  of  their  free- 
dom are  better  than  the  decay  and  decency  of 
despotism;  let  our  Baptist  brethren  make  the 
wilderness  a  pool  of  water;  let  our  evangelical 
Episcopalians — we  have  nothing  to  say  for  the 
other  sort — make  prayer  common  everywhere. 
.  They  are  all  needed  by  the  country,  needed  with 
us,  perhaps,  to  present  the  full-orbed  truth.  Let 
them  all  render  their  parts  in  the  anthem  of 
American  praise  to  Jehovah.  When  they  all  sing 
their  loudest,  many  places  are  still  silent;  and  in 
many  their  voice  is  not  heard.  Be  our  aim  to 
swell  the  cry — not  to  silence  other  voices.     We 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH     199 

have  a  share  in  their  graces  and  successes,  and 
they  in  ours,  by  that  prerogative  of  saints,  'all 
things  are  yours';  and  if  we  turn -our  union  to 
true  and  spiritual  account,  they  ought  all  to  be  the 
better  for  it. 

"  One  thing  seems  by  common  consent  agreed 
upon,  that  the  colleges  and  seminaries  of  the 
Church  must  be  placed  upon  a  better  foundation. 
We  are  now  employing  the  first  men  in  the 
country,  on  incomes  shamefully  inadequate.  It 
is  vain  to  expect  that  talent  and  culture  can  be 
long  retained  in  our  service  under  the  pressure  of 
cares  that  belittle  and  vex;  and  that  vex  specially 
the  best  order  of  minds— minds  that  do  not  give 
a  thought  to  the  privations  of  poverty,  but  are 
chafed  by  its  meanness,  by  enforced  small  sa- 
vings and  compulsory  checks  upon  every  generous 
aspiration. 

"The  ministry  of  the  Word  has  similar  just 
ground  of  complaint.  But  nine  out  of  ten  min- 
isters will  not  teach  their  people  duty  on  this 
matter.  How  many  ministers  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  have  fairly  expounded  to  their  people 
I  Cor.  9?  The  press  must  speak  out  on  this 
subject,  and  laymen  must  take  it  in  hand.  The 
better-supported  ministers,  too,  who  can  speak 
on  this  point  without  the  suspicion  or  appearance 


200  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

of  pleading  their  own  cause,  must  come  to  the 
help,  not  of  their  brethren,  but  of  the  church 
they  serve.  It  is  worth  considering  whether  ef- 
fort judiciously  and  successfully  laid  out  here, 
would  not  set  the  ministry  free  of  ill  conditions 
that  now  repel  some  who  could  educate  them- 
selves, and  so  swell  the  incomes  of  our  educa- 
tional institutions,  and  promote  other  desirable 
objects.  Promptly  and  frankly  invited  to  the 
columns  of  The  Evangelist,  in  the  spirit  of  the 
union,  it  would  be  a  great  joy  and  honor  to  the 
present  writer  if  he  could  make  any  contribution 
to  the  Church's  efficiency  in  these  directions." 

In  another  place  he  ventured  to  criticise  the 
methods  by  which  students  were  helped  into  the 
ministry;  methods  which  he  could  not  but  feel 
undermined  their  self-respect,  and  jeopardized 
their  standing  in  the  community.  Dr.  Hodge 
took  him  very  sharply  to  task  for  his  opinions  on 
this  subject,  but  they  remained  his  opinions  to 
the  end. 

Very  early  in  his  ministry  good  ladies  asked 
him  to  read  a  notice  from  the  pulpit  asking  for 
cast-off  clothing  for  the  theological  students  at 
Princeton.  He  refused  to  do  it,  and  explained 
his  reasons.  To  him  it  seemed  unworthy  of  the 
manhood  and  womanhood  of  the  church  to  treat 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    201 

those  who  were  to  be  leaders  and  teachers  as  ob- 
jects of  a  careless  charity  of  this  kind.  He  had 
no  objection  to  the  church  training  her  ministry, 
but  her  methods  he  thought  altogether  wrong, 
and  traced  to  those  methods  much  of  the  restless- 
ness and  inefficiency  among  the  ministers  and 
churches.  It  was  a  habit  of  his  to  watch  the 
news  column  of  the  weekly  religious  press,  and 
when  he  saw  that  the  "Rev.  Mr.  A.  of  Boom- 
town  !iad  had  a  most  remarkable  ministry  full  of 
success,  and  had  just  added  thirty  souls  to  the 
communion  roll,"  he  said  he  expected  soon  either 
a  note  asking  his  aid  in  a  change  for  Mr.  A.  or  a 
paragraph  stating  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  A.  contem- 
plated a  period  of  rest  after  his  labors. 

One  of  the  things  which  he  mourned  and  be- 
wailed in  common  with  Dr.  Adams  was  the 
crowd  of  relatively  irresponsible  book  agents, 
insurance  solicitors,  and  unattached  ministers 
who  filled  up  the  presbyteries,  and  destroyed 
often  the  fraternal  confidence  which  alone  makes 
the  presbytery  an  efficient  body.  It  remained 
also  his  opinion  to  the  end  that  Professors  of 
Theology  should  be  admitted  as  active  elders  to 
the  churches,  and  that  only  so  should  they  have 
full  recognition  in  the  counsels  of  the  church. 
The  flitting  of  ministers  he  attributed  to  the  fault 


202  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

of  both  churches  and  pastors.  Many  ministers, 
he  said,  reminded  him  of  the  httle  sparrows  on 
the  roof  which  keep  their  wings  twitching  all  the 
time  ready  at  any  time  to  fly  on  the  slightest  im- 
pulse. 

My  father  thought  very  highly  of  American 
speaking.  He  was  wont  to  contrast  English 
speaking  with  the  American  type  of  easy  natural 
address,  such  as  is  so  often  heard  on  the  plat- 
form or  at  the  dinner-table.  He  did  not  think  so 
highly  of  American  preaching,  highly  as  he  es- 
timated the  best  preachers.  Very  gently  he 
sought  to  intimate  as  much  in  his  early  ministry. 
After  the  reunion  he  wrote  an  article  that  was 
much  quoted  on  "What  the  reunion  could  not 
do,"  The  italics  in  the  selection  from  it  are  his 
own.     In  it  among  other  things  he  said: 

"There  are  many  desirable  objects  which  the 
United  Church  cannot  effect  by  any  direct  agency. 
She  cannot,  for  example,  make  all  her  ministers 
good  preachers.  If  a  man  is  inclined  to  air  his 
vocabulary  or  indulge  in  metaphysical  specula- 
tion, in  his  sermons,  he  will  not  be  immediately 
altered  by  being  in  the  United  Church.  Or  if  he 
cultivate  'simplicity'  until  it  becomes  childish- 
ness, or  mistake  foolish  preaching  for  'the  fool- 
ishness of  preaching,'  the  union  will  not  instantly 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    203 

change  him.  This  is  a  matter  outside  the  power 
of  the  General  Assemblies.  Presbyteries  indeed 
can  use  greater  care  in  admitting  to' the  place  of 
preachers  those  who  are  destitute  of  the  power 
to  preach;  but  as  regards  those  of  us  who  are 
licensed,  our  preaching  must  depend  on  our  con- 
gregations first,  and  secondly  on  ourselves.  If 
our  people  weary  and  harass  us  with  a  multiplic- 
ity of  small  matters  they  could  better  manage 
themselves;  if  they  demand  that  we  swell  the 
pomp  of  every  social  gathering,  sit  through  every 
committee,  and  be  on  hand  generally  for  any- 
thing and  everything,  then  we  shall  be  inferior 
preachers.  The  same  unhappy  end  can  be 
reached  by  forcing  a  portion  of  our  strength 
away  from  our  work,  as  for  example,  to  the  ac- 
quirement of  further  means  of  living,  or  the  pain- 
ful and  anxious  economy  of  what  we  have, 

"  Much  depends  on  ourselves.  If  we  live 
mainly  among  books  and  little  among  men;  if 
we  defer  the  severe  labor  of  composition  till  the 
end  of  the  week,  and  then  think  how  to  get  re- 
spectably through  for  the  Sabbath,  intending  to 
do  better  next  week  ;  if  we  take  no  pains  to 
know  the  points  at  which  we  and  the  message 
we  carry  can  come  into  contact  with  the  minds 
of  our  hearers;  then  plainly  our  preaching  power 


204  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

will  be  small,  even  though  the  union  were  a 
thousand  times  more  glorious  than  it  is.  But  our 
preaching  power  is  our  real  power,  and  there  is 
not  one  among  us  that  will  not  own  that  he 
could  have  made  much  more  of  it.  While  there- 
fore the  great  event  of  our  time  cannot  in  this  re- 
spect improve  us,  it  were  surely  a  good  time  for 
our  people  and  ourselves  to  seek  that  improve- 
ment. A  living  church  will  always  be  a  preach- 
ing Church.  The  decay  of  the  pulpit  goes  hand 
in  hand  with  the  decay  of  piety,  partly  as  cause, 
and  partly  as  effect.  We  shall  be  strong  when 
men  shall  feel  that  where  the  church  is  Presby- 
terian, the  strong  presumption  is  that  there  will 
be  in  it  thoroughly  good  preaching." 

As  a  preacher  his  own  success  in  New  York 
was  instantaneous.  In  the  letter  already  quoted 
(page  194)  to  his  friend  Dr.  Magee  he  dwells 
upon  the  simplicity  which  adorned  his  preaching 
to  the  end.  His  first  sermon  was  preached  on 
November  the  3d  on  the  text  Isa.  52  :  7,  "  How 
beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  Him 
that  bringeth  good  tidings,  etc."  The  sermon 
dwelt  upon  the  poetical  character  of  the  passage, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  language,  then  expounded 
the  substance  of  the  message — a  message  of 
peace,  through  forgiveness  of  sin  and  loving  re- 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    205 

lations  established  in  Christ  Jesus.  This  early 
preaching  was  characteristic  of  the  preaching  of 
the  lifetime.  Old  sermons  were  often  refused, 
and  my  father  not  only  did  not  despise  repreach- 
ing  of  sermons  but  thought  that  the  self-criticism 
of  the  process,  if  the  second  preparation  was  as 
conscientious  as  it  ought  to  be,  was  an  actual 
benefit  both  to  the  preacher  and  his  people. 
Later  in  life  he  published  his  volume  on  "  God's 
word  through  preaching"  in  the  "Lyman 
Beecher  Lecture  "  course  before  the  Yale  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  in  which  he  set  forth  fully  his 
views  of  preaching  in  method  and  spirit.  He 
also  wrote  at  one  time  an  interesting  little  auto- 
biographical sketch  of  his  pulpit  progress,  of 
which  a  few  extracts  are  appended. 

"Among  the  gifted  professors  of  the  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,"  he  writes,  "  of  which  1  enjoyed 
the  advantages  were  two  men  of  conspicuous 
prominence  as  preachers.  Dr.  Henry  Cooke  and 
Dr.  John  Edgar  were  unlike  in  style  and  manner, 
but  each  enjoyed  the  public  confidence  and  com- 
manded the  attention  of  the  community.  They 
were  not  only  instructors  in  principles  and  in 
methods;  they  were  examples  and  inspirers.  No 
minister  of  prominence  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Ireland,  of  that  day,  read  his  manu- 


2o6  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

script  in  the  pulpit.  A  certain  proportion  of  its 
six  hundred  pastors,  at  the  present  time  how- 
ever, read  carefully  prepared  discourses. 

"It  was  the  rule  of  the  classes  for  the  student  to 
receive  texts,  and  to  preach  from  them  before  the 
professor  and  the  class,  and  to  receive  such  criti- 
cism from  the  professor  upon  arrangement,  mat- 
ter, and  manner,  as  he  felt  to  be  proper.  The 
sermons  were  commonly  memorized  and  given 
verbally  as  written.  Reading  was  not  the  order 
of  those — to  the  preacher,  solemn  occasions. 

"  We  were  not,  of  course,  taught  that  memori- 
zing the  language  was  to  be  our  enduring  method, 
but  that  careful  writing  contributed  to  order, 
clearness,  correctness  of  description,  and  definite- 
ness.  All  my  experience  since  my  student-days 
confirms  that  impression. 

"  My  ministry  began,  and  continued  for  three 
years,  in  somewhat  peculiar  conditions,  the  con- 
gregations consisting  of  the  Protestant  Gentry, 
not  Presbyterians,  a  few  Presbyterians,  and  the 
majority  not  only  not  used  to  Protestant,  but 
many  of  them  not  used  to  the  English  language. 
It  was  necessary  to  prepare  to  speak  in  such  a 
way  as  to  interest  the  educated  and  at  the  same 
time  to  be  intelligible  to  the  rest  of  the  hearers. 
It  was  not  uncommon  to  deliver  a  carefully  pre- 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    207 

pared  sermon  in  the  forenoon,  to  go,  frequently 
on  foot,  seven  or  eight  miles  in  the  afternoon, 
and  repeat  it  to  a  corresponding  congregation,  in 
the  evening.  The  experience  of  the  morning 
sometimes  led  to  modifications  in  the  evening. 
What  seemed  to  be  obscure  to  the  hearers  in  the 
morning  was  clarified  as  much  as  possible  in  the 
delivery  to  the  evening  hearers. 

"It  appeared  to  be  my  duty,  at  length,  to  come 
from  the  'West  of  Ireland'  to  my  native  coun- 
try, and  take  charge  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  succession  to  a  pastor  of  great  culture 
and  of    high   character.     The  congregation   in- 
cluded a  large  portion  of  the  educated  people  of 
the  city,  and  the  rest— one  half  the  congregation 
—consisted  of  comfortable  farmers  all  around  it, 
within  a  radius  of  two  to  three  miles.     The  same 
necessity  existed  for  sermons  that  would  be  edi- 
fying to  the  city  people  without  being  '  over  the 
heads'  of  the  rural  members.     The  writing  of 
the  sermons  went  on  as  before,  but  with  a  little 
less  reproduction  in  speaking  of  the  language  as 
written.     The  topics  were  selected  early  in  the 
week.     It  was  needful  to  go  into  the  rural  dis- 
tricts for  week  evening  sermons,  in  schoolhouses 
and  in  farmers'  houses,  and  while  preparation 
was  made  for  discourses  for  these  meetings,  it 


2o8  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

was  less  formal  than  for  the  Lord's  day,  consist- 
ing of  'abstracts,'  or  'notes,'  with  a  system  of 
contractions  both  of  sentences  and  of  words,  of 
my  own  invention. 

"  It  was  then  common  to  arrange  topics  in  a 
series,  so  that  preparation  in  reading  could  be 
carried  on  in  advance,  and  also  to  have  one  of  the 
two  services  expository— a  method  of  teaching 
which  many  people  need,  and  which  saves  the 
pastor  from  the  dreary  soliloquy,  'I  wonder 
what  I  should  preach  on  next  Sabbath.'  The 
expositions  did  not  require  as  much  writing,  but 
quite  as  much  study,  as  did  the  sermons;  and  it 
was  found  to  be  a  help  to  regular  attendance  by 
the  best  of  the  people,  when  they  naturally  said: 
'  I  would  like  to  hear  the  rest  of  what  he  has  to 
say  on  that  line,'  of  subjects  or  of  an  Epistle,  or 
a  minor  prophet. 

"After  half-a-dozen  happy  years  in  the  capital 
of  my  native  county,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
brethren  to  whom  I  looked  up,  I  was  removed 
to  the  capital  of  my  native  land,  to  be  colleague 
to  a  saintly  pastor  whose  name  1  write  down 
with  affectionate  remembrance,  Rev.  Wm.  B. 
Kirkpatrick,  D.  D.  For  the  first  year  or  two  I 
had  only  to  preach  once  each  Sabbath  in  our  own 
pulpit,  but  my  brethren  of  various  denominations 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    209 

were  very  good  to  me,  and  afforded  opportunities 
to  preach  when  1  was  not  needed  in  our  Mary's 
Abbey. 

"  It  is  proper  to  say — as  already  mentioned  that 
every  word  is  not  written  down,  nor  every  word 
in  full.  One  learns  to  contract  sentences,  keep- 
ing in  its  place  every  determining  word,  and  to 
contrast  also,  familiar  words.  One  incidental 
advantage  of  this  it  may  be  allowable  to  mention. 
When  a  gentlemanly  reporter  asks  for  the  sermon 
the  true  reply:  'I  write  out,  but  with  a  system 
of  abbreviation  a  printer  could  not  use,'  is  'a 
saving' — in  several  directions.' 

"It  would  be  natural  to  say:  'What  is  the  use 
of  writing  in  this  way.?'  The  answer  I  give 
might  not  be  pertinent  in  other  cases.  The 
writer  can  only  speak  for  himself.  One  has 
often  general  ideas,  indefinite  views  partly  from 
the  feeling,  partly  from  the  judgment.  To  put 
them  down  distinctly  tends  to  remove  the  nebu- 
lous element,  and  makes  them  commtinicable ; 
for  how  can  an  audience  catch  an  idea  which  the 
speaker  cannot  put  into  lucid  expression  ? 
Conciseness  is  thus  produced,  and  the  mind  is 
helped  to  follow  the  natural  sequence  of  ideas. 
What  one  sees  under  heads  I,  II,  and  III,  with 
perhaps,  orderly  items  (i),  (2),  (3),  and  practical 


210  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

applications  (a),  (b),  (c),  will  usually  be  more 
orderly,  easier  of  recollection,  and  more  intelligi- 
ble than  would  be  an  extemporaneous  address 
however  much  thought  out.  There  is  moreover — 
the  writer  now  speaks  for  himself — a  certain  relief 
to  the  mind  when  one  can  say  to  his  own  con- 
science: 'It  is  a  poor  sermon  for  such  a  grand 
theme,  but  it  is  the  best  that  I  can  do.'  It  may 
not  be  improper  to  add  that  I  have,  many  a  time, 
outlined  the  topics  for  thanksgiving,  confession, 
and  petition  in  prayer,  so  as  to  give  the  best  ex- 
pression I  could  to  what  the  people  should,  and 
would,  join  in  presenting  before  the  Father's 
throne." 

The  building  at  Nineteenth  Street  was  soon 
packed  at  each  service.  Camp-chairs  were  placed 
down  each  aisle.  The  inconvenience  to  pew- 
holders  of  the  coming  of  strangers  into  their 
pews  gave  rise  to  complaint;  and  promptly  six 
of  the  most  influential,  and  one  or  two  of  them 
the  oldest,  members  in  the  session  and  board  of 
trustees  took  upon  themselves  the  task  of  seat- 
ing the  strangers,  and  made  in  many  ways  the 
church  one  of  the  pleasantest  to  visit.  When 
Mr.  Robert  L.  Stewart  or  Mr.  Henry  Day  asked 
any  one  if  they  could  seat  a  stranger,  a  refusal 
was  given  only  in  case  of  disagreeable  necessity. 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    211 

The  services  being  in  the  morning  and  after- 
noon, my  father  preached  almost  regularly  on 
Sunday  evenings  in  some  other  church,  and  his 
voice  was  soon  familiar  in  almost  all  the  Evangel- 
ical Churches  of  New  York  and.  Brooklyn. 

Into  the  New  York  pastorate  was  brought  the 
same  systematic  pastoral  work  that  had  marked 
his  Dublin  and  Armagh  periods.  Day  after  day 
he  sought  out  the  members  of  his  flock,  high  and 
low,  visiting  with  caretaking  system  family  after 
family,  watching  over  those  employed  in  house- 
holds with  the  same  diligence  as  those  who  em- 
ployed. From  time  to  time  he  visited  the  busi- 
ness section  of  the  city,  and  although  seldom 
sitting  down,  he  yet  visited  the  offices  of  the 
business  and  professional  men.  He  liked  to 
know,  he  said,  where  and  how  they  work.  The 
sick  he  visited  regularly,  and  doctors  who  are 
often  and,  sometimes  reasonably,  suspicious  of 
ministers'  visits  to  their  serious  cases,  have  told 
the  writer  that  they  made  exception  in  the  case 
of  my  father,  whose  low  accents  and  ready 
tact  and  short  ministrations  encouraged  and 
strengthened  and  soothed,  where  less  skillful  or 
sympathetic  visitation  would  have  excited  and 
done  harm. 

For  purely  social  engagements  he  had  no  time. 


212  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

The  number  of  houses  where  he  ever  dined  in 
a  formal  social  way  could  be  numbered  on  his 
fingers.  He  felt  in  later  life,  that  he  perhaps  had 
neglected  opportunities  along  this  line.  Yet  he 
never  saw  exactly  what  other  course,  under 
the  circumstances,  he  could  have  pursued.  That 
that  which  is  known  as  the  "  social  world  "  was 
altogether  out  of  his  range  and  knowledge  he 
felt  with  some  degree  of  sadness. 

All  that  was  harmless  and  innocent  he  thought 
should  be  in  contact  with  the  religious  life, 
yet  many  things  he  was  opposed  to,  which 
Christian  feeling  he  deeply  respected  considered 
innocent.  Thus  he  never  thought  the  theatre 
anything  but  an  evil,  and  though  fond  of  music, 
even  if  in  an  untrained  way,  yet  he  never  went 
where  he  thought  the  prejudices  of  any  would 
be  oflfended,  and  when  abroad  he  always  resisted 
the  inducements  often  held  out  to  him  by  friends 
to  go  to  the  opera,  unwilling  to  do  abroad  what 
he  would  not  do  at  home. 

Yet  he  had  abundant  charity  when  he  was  sure 
that  Christian  judgment  was  convinced  that  an- 
other course  was  proper.  "I  am  not  a  police- 
man," he  once  said  to  one  who  playfully  con- 
fessed a  fondness  for  the  theatre,  "  1  am  only  an 
adviser.     I  advise  you  not  to  go,   but  to  your 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    213 

Saviour  alone  you  stand  or  fall  in  such  matters; 
1  may  be  wrong."  And  once  writing  in  the 
Christian  Intelligencer  he  put  the  case  strongly, 
saying: 

"Let  us  not  as  Christian  ministers  under- 
take to  pronounce  upon  amusements,  discrimina- 
ting which  is  good,  which  is  bad,  and  when  an 
innocent  becomes  a  sinful  game.  For  one  thing, 
we  have  more  dignified  work  to  do  than  to 
measure  the  comparative  qualities  of  all  the  pas- 
times of  the  people,  from  'fox  and  goose'  up- 
ward or  downward.  For  another,  our  oracle 
will  be  construed  in  ways  we  never  intended. 
We  approve,  for  example,  of  square  dances,  not 
of  round.  Well,  the  devil  will  soon  put  the 
mischievous  elements  of  the  dance  we  condemn 
into  that  we  approve;  and  we  are  now  in  a 
worse  case  than  before,  for  the  evil  proceeds 
with  our  approval,  and  we  cannot  turn  dancing- 
masters  to  oppose  it,  nor  be  always  on  hand  to 
point  it  out. 

"For  yet  another  thing,  this  plan  minimiies 
Christian  people.  'Our  minister  allows  so  and 
so;'  'Our  pastor  disapproves  of  so  and  so.' 
What!  have  you  no  judgment,  no  conscience,  no 
Bible  .?  or  are  they  packed  away  like  children's 
knives,  lest  they  should  cut  their  innocent  fingers, 


214  THE  MINISTRY  IN 

while  a  clerical  mamma,  or  a  Rev.  '  Father'  does 
all  the  serious  cutting  ?  Let  me  be  a  preacher,  a 
teacher,  a  writer,  if  I  can;  but  let  me  never  be- 
come that  compound  of  vanity,  ambition,  love  of 
power,  misguided  zeal  and  distorted  religion,  '  a 
spiritual  director.'  We  are  helpers  of  the  peo- 
ple's faith.  Saintliness  as  well  as  sex  forbids  our 
being  degraded  into  duennas." 

Many  thought  on  account  of  his  firm  views  on 
such  subjects  that  they  had  to  be  hypocrites  to 
him.  But  that  was  not  the  case.  Some  of  his 
dearest  friends  differed  from  him  and  he  had 
only  to  be  sure  that  they  were  acting  con- 
scientiously, and  for  him  the  matter  was  settled. 
He  might  think  them  mistaken,  but  he  left  the 
final  decision  to  themselves. 

For  his  judgment  in  even  business  matters  men 
versed  in  such  things  had  a  profound  respect. 
As  he  went  in  and  out  as  a  pastor  his  worth  as  a 
friend  and  helpful  adviser  was  recognized.  His 
correspondence  up  to  the  day  of  his  death  reveals 
the  thousand  avenues  of  his  influence  as  his 
counsel  was  sought  for  far  and  wide.  In  his 
pastoral  work  he  sought  to  bring  forward  the 
spiritual  interests  he  had  at  heart.  Where  it  was 
possible  and  it  could  be  tactfully  done  he  sought 
to  have  prayer  with  those  whom  he  visited.     Of 


NINETEENTH  STREET  CHURCH    215 

course  in  a  great  city  this  was  not  always  pos- 
sible. But  sooner  or  later  on  occasion  of  trouble 
or  loss  or  difficulty  he  came  as  the  bearer  of  a 
message  into  nearly  every  family  of  his  congre- 
gation. And  even  after  the  first  shock  had  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  trouble  that  ended  his  life, 
he  toiled  patiently  up  high  flights  of  stairs,  often, 
in  vain,  seeking  those  who  sometimes  had  but 
the  barest  claims  upon  his  ministry.  A  physi- 
cian who  knew  him  only  by  sight  was  deeply 
moved  in  the  spring  of  1898  by  seeing  him  lean- 
ing heavily  and  breathlessly  on  the  balustrade 
toiling  up  three  flights  of  stairs  he  should  never 
have  attempted  to  cHmb,  as  he  sought  out  some 
one  to  whom  he  was  bringing  his  message  of 
peace  and  hope. 


IX.     THE    NEW     CHURCH     BUILDING 
AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE 


THE  SILENT  TOWER' 

BY    REV.    GEORGE   W.    BUNGAY 

It  rises  in  silence  and  splendor 

In  the  light  of  a  better  day ; 
The  lesson  is  touching  and  tender 

To  the  sufferers  over  the  way. 

It  points  to  the  bells  that  are  ringing 

In  heaven,  unheard  here  below, 
Where  the  choir  celestial  is  singing 

Near  the  throne  that  is  whiter  than  snow. 

The  music  of  silence  is  sweeter 

Than  the  ringing  of  bells  in  towers ; 

It  chords  with  the  cadence  whose  metre 
Is  sweet  as  the  wind-harp  in  flowers. 

By  the  couches  where  patients  are  sleeping, 

And  dreaming  of  visions  above, 
Two  angels  their  vigils  are  keeping  — 

One  is  Mercy,  the  other  is  Love. 

Not  even  the  clock  that's  revealing 

The  passing  away  of  the  hour, 
Can  disturb  with  dolorous  pealing, 

Since  Love  struck  it  dumb  in  the  tower. 

'  Dr.  John  Hall's  people  refrained  from  hanging  a  bell  in  the  tower  of 
their  church,  and  would  not  even  suffer  the  clock  to  strike,  lest  the  pa- 
tients in  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  then  opposite,  should  be  disturbed. 


2l8 


IX 

THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING  AND  ENLARGING 

INFLUENCE 

NEIV  YORK'S  CHANGES.  THE  NEIV  CHURCH  BUILDING. 
FELLOiV- WORKERS  IN  THE  CONGREGATION.  OUTSIDE  AC- 
TIVITIES. EDUCATION.  HOME  MISSIONS.  SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 
POWERS  ^S  tA  DEBATOR.  CHURCH  EXTENSION  ^ND  CITY 
MISSIONS.    LITERAR  Y  WORK  ^ND  AMBITIONS.     THEOLOG  Y. 

NEW  YORK  in  the  years  between  1867  and 
1870  was  in  many  respects  a  very  different 
city  from  the  Greater  New  York  of  to-day.  Nor 
is  the  new  city  altogether  an  improvement.  The 
whole  scale  of  living  was  simpler.  The  extremes 
of  poverty  only  began  to  be  apparent  after  1873, 
and  the  city  itself,  if  wholly  lacking  in  architec- 
tural attractiveness,  had  yet  an  air  of  comfortable 
sufficiency  written  on  even  its  byways.  Even 
the  gaudy  Bowery,  in  those  days  the  climax  of 
rough  looseness  of  life,  was  neither  so  squalid 
nor  so  repulsive  as  are  similar  situations  in  the 
greater  city.  At  the  same  time  there  was  writ- 
ten then  on  the  face  of  New  York  the  fact  that  the 
period  was  one  of  transition.  The  "old  in- 
habitants" whose  fishing  stories  included  Canal 

Street    in    their   hunting-grounds,    felt  that  the 
219 


220     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

movement  up~town  was  not  going  to  stop  at 
Twenty-third  Street.  The  insufficiency  of  the 
building  at  Nineteenth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue  to 
contain  the  congregation  was  made  clear  from 
the  very  first.  In  the  beginning  it  was  felt  that 
the  increase  might  perhaps  be  temporary,  but 
the  pastoral  work  that  followed  up  the  preaching 
made  the  pressure  on  the  pews  only  greater  from 
week  to  week.  Moreover  the  visiting  was  more 
and  more  "  up-town,"  and  the  drift  of  the  popu- 
lation was  manifest.  At  the  same  time  Central 
Park  seemed  to  supply  a  natural  barrier,  and 
when  at  last  the  demand  for  more  room  became 
imperative,  many  asked  themselves,  where  can 
we  go  and  be  safe  for  years  to  come  ?  The  an- 
swer to  that  question  was  not  easy  to  give,  and 
caused  delay  for  some  time.  Many,  and  those 
thoughtful  men,  wanted  simply  to  stay  and  build 
on  the  old  site  a  larger  church.  Others  thought 
that  the  neighborhood  of  Forty-first  Street  was 
as  far  up  as  the  congregation  could  with  safety 
go.  At  first  a  small  number,  but  a  graduately 
increasing  one,  decided  that  if  the  church  moved 
it  should  move  ahead  of  the  centre  of  present 
population,  and  that  by  going  near  to  the  Central 
Park  a  fair  permanency  might  be  obtained. 
This  view  my  father  shared.     He  felt  however 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE    221 

that  under  all  the  circumstances  the  congregation 
must  take  the  responsibility  of  any  change. 

Already  in  July  of  the  year  1868  there' had  come 
to  the  old  Nineteenth  Street  Church  the  enterpri- 
sing owner  of  the  family  weekly  paper  which 
had  then  the  widest  circulation  of  any  family 
paper  in  America,  if  not  in  the  world.  Mr.  Rob- 
ert Bonner  was  of  Scotch-Irish  blood,  and  a  man 
of  prodigious  energy  and  wonderful  discernment 
and  knowledge  of  men  and  things.  He  was  at 
once  attracted  to  my  father  and  the  two  men,  in 
many  ways  utterly  unlike,  became  fast  and  life- 
long friends.  He  at  once  flung  himself  quietly 
but  most  efficiently  into  the  affairs  of  the  church. 
He  was  known  and  utterly  trusted  by  the  group 
of  men,  who  one  by  one  were  taken  away  from 
the  counsels  of  the  church  by  death,  until  at  last 
he  remained  well-nigh  the  only  survivor  at  the 
time  of  my  father's  own  decease.  He  was  known 
all  over  the  world  as  the  owner  of  "Dexter  "  the 
famous  trotter  whose  record  has  been  beaten,  but 
whose  fame  has  never  been  surpassed.  He  how- 
ever had  tried  to  explain  to  my  father  in  a  playful 
letter  that  he  never  trotted  his  horses  for  money, 
and  never  had  them  raced.  Far-seeing  and  reso- 
lute Mr.  Bonner  had  made  up  his  mind  very  early 
just  where  the   church   should  be  built,  and  in 


222     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

quiet  talks  with  those  who  had  been  longer  in 
the  church  he  succeeded  in  getting  a  number  to 
share  his  views.  He  was  moreover  of  the  opin- 
ion advanced  by  Mr.  R.  L.  Stuart,  at  that  time 
the  most  influential  officer  in  the  church,  that 
when  the  new  building  was  undertaken  it  should 
be  both  in  extent  and  character  worthy  of  Pres- 
byterianism  in  the  metropolitan  city  of  the  East. 
By  1872  the  plans  were  well  under  way,  and  in 
a  congregational  meeting  the  resolution  had 
already  been  carried,  with  practical  unanimity  to 
go  up-town.  Real  estate  was  at  that  time  counted 
high,  and  the  price  of  the  lots  seemed  to  many 
enormous,  although  they  could  not  now  be 
bought,  probably,  for  anything  like  the  sum  then 
paid.  The  plans  for  the  building  that  now  stands 
on  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifty-fifth 
Street  were  approved  and  bonds  were  issued  to 
secure  the  necessary  funds.  The  correspondence 
of  the  years  1872  to  1877  are  filled  with  the  plans 
and  pains  attendant  upon  so  large  an  enterprise. 
To  "  own  a  pew "  meant  in  the  Old  World 
tradition  family  possession  with  the  payment  of 
a  yearly  tithe.  This  plan  had  been  adopted 
with  reference  to  the  Nineteenth  Street  building, 
hence  when  the  change  was  contemplated  the 
"owners"  of  pews,   in   distinction  from  those 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE    223 

simply  renting  them  yearly  from  the  trustees,  in 
the  old  building  had  already  claims  for  "  owner- 
ship "  in  the  pews  of  the  new  structure.  In  some 
ways  this  was  felt  to  be  unfortunate  by  several, 
yet  on  the  other  hand  the  plans  for  a  change 
were  fostered  by  those  who  were  bound  by  the 
old  tradition,  and  who  felt  they  had  a  life  inter- 
est in  the  material  side  of  the  church  organiza- 
tion. 

The  building  committee  was  a  strong  body  of 
able  men;  the  plans  were  made  on  a  liberal  scale, 
and  the  building  was  started.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  panic  of  1873  found  many  of  the  congre- 
gation financially  imperilled,  and  notwithstanding 
the  losses  all  suffered  in  the  falling  prices,  the 
building  proceeded  steadily  and  was  occupied  in 
1875. 

By  this  time  my  father  had  also  removed 
his  residence  to  No.  3  West  Fifty-sixth  Street, 
which  house  became  the  parsonage  from  that 
time  until  later  lots  were  bought  next  the 
church,  in  part  to  protect  its  light  and  appearance, 
and  on  those  lots  a  parsonage  was  then  built. 
The  debt,  however,  hanging  over  the  church  was 
a  burden  on  my  father's  heart.  Many  were  in- 
clined to  let  "  another  generation"  bear  some  of 
the  burdens.     The  minister  felt  the  infelicity  of 


224     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

such  a  course.  He  feared  a  possible  vacancy  in 
the  pastoral  office,  and  dreaded  the  ill-effects  of  a 
large  debt  on  other  churches.  He  found  also  that 
the  benevolences  of  the  church  might  suffer. 
Hence  he  strained  his  influence  w^ith  the  congre- 
gation to  the  utmost,  and  having  the  hearty 
support  of  Mr.  Robert  Bonner,  whose  total  gifts 
far  exceeded  those  of  any  other  single  individual, 
the  debt  was  paid  in  the  spring  of  1877.  This 
closing  of  the  debt  account  was  felt  to  begin  a 
new  era  of  activity.  From  this  on  the  church 
became  the  centre  of  untold  streams  of  influence, 
and  the  incessant  labors  of  the  pastor  seemed  to 
have  no  end  and  no  limit. 

No  sketch  of  my  father's  life  would  be  accord- 
ing to  his  mind  and  heart  without  some  record  of 
that  group  of  men  who  shared  his  earliest  ministry 
in  New  York,  and  who  remained  his  warm  and  en- 
thusiastic supporters  until  death  took  them  one  by 
one  from  each  other.  The  two  brothers  Mr.  R.  L. 
and  Alexander  Stuart  were  among  the  first  to 
welcome  the  young  Irish  delegate  in  1867,  and 
became  warm  advocates  of  the  policy  of  calling 
him  to  America.  The  wealth  at  their  disposal 
they  gave  freely  and  thoughtfully.  They  both 
had  peculiarities,  such  as  are  often  found  in  men 
of  those  earlier  days,  but  they  remained  to  the 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     225 

end  of  their  lives  faithful  and  wise  friends  of  my 
father.  To  Mr.  Henry  Day  he  was  also  devo- 
tedly attached;  like  Mr.  De  Forest,  Mr.  Henry 
Day  stood  openly  upon  a  theological  ground 
broader  than  was  the  tradition  of  the  church. 
But  for  such  differences  my  father  had  but  little 
interest;  he  saw  in  the  men  the  Christ-life,  and 
honored  it  under  other  theological  terms,  while 
holding  fast  and  deeming  of  importance  his 
own  theological  forms.  Very  early  Mr.  William 
Walker  was  taken  from  the  side  of  his  pastor, 
and  he  was  sorely  missed.  He  was  a  peculiarly 
outspoken  man,  although  gentle  almost  to  weak- 
ness, and  with  him  my  father  had  profound 
spiritual  sympathies.  They  shared  some  hopes 
and  fears  for  the  church  together,  about  which 
my  father  seldom  spoke  to  any  other  of  his  offi- 
cers. Upon  Mr.  William  Sloane  also  my  father 
leaned  for  many  things.  He  honored  Mr.  Sloane's 
faithful  personal  services.  As  the  treasurer  of 
the  church  he  did  with  his  own  hand  in  the 
midst  of  an  exceedingly  busy  life,  work  he  re- 
fused to  entrust  to  any  clerk,  as  he  felt  it  was  of 
a  highly  confidential  nature.  Mr.  William  Skid- 
more  too  was  one  who  stood  closely  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  church,  and  was  near  my  father  in 
all   counsels.     There  were   others,  some  of  his 


226     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

early  advisers  and  friends  God  lias  spared  in  His 
goodness,  to  this  day,  and  others  like  Mr.  H.  M. 
Alexander  survived  him  by  only  a  little  while. 

The  entrance  into  the  new  building  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  immediate  increase  in  the  work  en- 
tailed upon  the  pastor.  The  visiting  became 
even  more  difficult  as  it  stretched  from  Washing- 
ton Square  far  up-town  past  the  Central  Park. 
To  make  the  visitation  more  efficient  the  plan 
was  adopted,  of  reading  from  the  pulpit  the 
streets  in  which  the  pastor  expected  to  visit  dur- 
ing the  week.  It  was  one  of  the  discourage- 
ments of  his  later  ministry  that  the  pastoral 
visitation  did  not  seem  to  him  as  effective  or  as 
much  sought  after  as  before  the  great  scattering 
of  the  city,  and  the  changes  that  have  taken  place 
in  the  mode  of  living  of  the  people.  These 
changes  were  going  on  very  rapidly.  The  steady 
quiet  life  that  was  characteristic  of  the  so  many 
American  homes  in  the  earlier  period  exists,  no 
doubt,  to-day,  but  the  showy  luxurious  life  of  a 
great  wasteful  cosmopolitan  city  is  what  is  on 
the  surface;  is  seen  daily,  and  affects  sooner  or 
later  all  classes. 

It  was  to  my  father,  as  probably  to  many 
another  thoughtful  city  minister,  a  source  of 
anxiety  that  the  home  training  no  longer  seemed 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     227 

to  him  to  emphasize  properly  the  religious  ele- 
ment. This  was  undoubtedly  an  increasing  anx- 
iety as  the  congregation  grew  larger  and  larger 
and  less  and  less  homogeneous. 

The  expense  of  the  church  was,  of  course,  a 
matter  of  remark  and  of  some  criticism.  This 
criticism  my  father  always  considered  thought- 
less and  short-sighted.  By  nature  he  was  inter- 
ested in  and  attached  to  institutions.  He  saw  in 
the  institutional  life  of  the  Presbyterian  church  a 
tremendous  force.  That  force  could  only  be  felt, 
he  realized,  in  a  great  and  growing  city  by  an 
institutional  life  worthy  in  external  character  of 
the  life  it  represented.  !t  was  not  needless  dis- 
play, but  a  harmony  between  the  external  and 
the  inner  life  which  attracted  him  in  the  plans  for 
a  permanent  building  of  larger  proportions  than 
the  ordinary  church  life  demands.  The  building 
represented  to  him  the  place  he  felt  Presbyterian- 
ism  should  have  in  the  forming  of  the  city  life, 
and  in  the  moulding  of  future  character.  Into 
the  new  building  he  built  his  own  life  and  heart, 
not  for  his  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  that 
which  was  dearer  to  him  than  life. 

The  sale  of  the  pews  took  place  on  a  Monday 
night  and  on  Tuesday  the  following  characteristic 
note  from  Mr.  Bonner  announced  the  result. 


228     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

Tuesday  morning,  iSj^. 

Dear  Dr.  Hall  : 

Five  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one  pews  !  Nothing  like  it  was  ever  known. 
At  least,  so  they  all  say.  It  was  too  late  last  night,  when  we 
ascertained  the  result,  or  John  A.,  and  R.  B.,  would  have  been 
over  at  your  house  to  congratulate  you.  As  Napoleon  said, 
"  Much  has  been  done,  but  much  yet  remains  to  do." 

In  Dr.  James  W.  Alexander's  "  Familiar  Letters "  he  has 
several  passages  about  the  Nineteenth  Street  church  building 
when  it  was  new  which  I  think  will  interest  you.  I  presume 
you  have  his  "  Letters  "  ;  but  I  have  marked  several  passages 
in  my  volume,  so  that  you  can  see  them  at  a  glance.  See 
pages  178,  179,  180,  181,  182  and  183. 

We  are  all  delighted  with  the  result.  The  most  sanguine  of 
us  did  not  expect  over  1^30,000  in  premiums,  and  yet  we  had 
over  ^74,000  for  the  privilege  of  taking  pews  at  those  high 
prices  !  Ever  yours, 

Robert  Bonner. 

The  building  was  largely  paid  for  by  the  en- 
ergy of  a  few.  In  a  note,  intended  to  restrain  in 
a  playful  way  any  tendency  to  excessive  exulta- 
tion, Mr.  Bonner  sent  later  the  following  calcula- 
tions with  regard  to  the  sources  of  the  income: 

May  8th,  1877. 
My  dear  Dr.  Hall  : 

Inasmuch  as  you  have  asked  me,  I  will  answer  frankly 
that  I  do  not  think  you  have  any  particular  reason  for  "  brag- 
ging "  much  of  the  work  that  your  "  people  "  have  done  in  pay- 
ing off  the  debt. 

Let  us  look  at  the  facts :  Figures  in  this  case  will  not  lie. 
Before  we  entered  the  new  church,  we  raised  exactly  ^180,- 
222.09 ;  ^nd  now  we  have  had  subscribed,  including  collection, 
^148,174.00, — making  from  all  sources  a  total  of  #328,996.09 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     229 

tliat  has  been  given  to  the  church.  This,  of  course,  has  no 
reference  to  receipts  from  sales  of  pews ;  but  it  is  all  that  has 
ever  been  given.  Now,  of  this  entire  sum  I  find,  that  William 
Sloan  has  given  ^50,000;  R.  L.  and  A.  Stuart  ^65,000  ;  R.  B. 
^131,000 — making  from  three  parties  alone,  ^246,000.  If  you 
take  ^246,000  from  ^328,996.09,  you  have  only  ;?82,996.09 
left ; — but  even  of  this  sum  the  pastor  and  his  family  contributed 
^3,427.88  ;  so  that  all  which  your  "  people  "  (three  parties  only 
excepted)  have  ever  given  under  any  and  all  circumstances,  for 
the  million-dollar  church,  amounts  to  just  ^79,568.21.  Not 
much  in  my  judgment,  (which  you  ask),  to  "brag"  of. 

The  congregations  at  once  filled  the  building. 
At  first  it  was  thought  that  after  a  little  while  the 
congregations  would  fall  off — curiosity  having 
been  satisfied.  This  was  not  the  case.  The 
faithful  pastoral  work  that  followed  up  the 
preaching  secured  ever  increasing  strength  to  the 
permanent  worshippers,  and  Sunday  after  Sun- 
day throughout  the  winter  months  great  au- 
diences listened  to  the  simple  straightforward 
preaching  that  remained  substantially  the  same 
in  message  and  character  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end. 

Here  may  be  the  place  to  speak  of  the  outside 
work  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  minister  of  so 
large  a  church.  It  was  often  an  amazement  to 
those  who  had  correspondence  with  him,  how 
the  pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  church  could  do 
his  work  without  a  secretary.     The  extent  of  the 


230     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

correspondence  was  enormous.  Every  activity 
in  which  he  had  an  interest  brought  with  it  in- 
numerable notes,  requests,  demands  of  one  sort 
or  another.  From  the  first  all  letters  were  an- 
swered by  himself,  and  with  the  exception  of 
three  winters,  when  the  writer  cared  for  his  cor- 
respondence in  part,  and  two  winters  when  he 
had  outside  help  in  arranging  all  his  papers,  he 
cared  for  all  his  writing  with  his  own  pen.  To 
the  last  he  wrote  the  same  firm,  rapid,  legible 
handwriting  which  made  his  little  "night 
school"  on  the  old  farm  a  much  sought  circle. 

His  interest  in  education  was  intelligent  and 
keen.  Perhaps  his  experience  from  the  days  of 
that  boyish  experiment  in  some  degree  accounts 
for  this  interest.  Very  early  he  began  to  raise 
his  voice  in  favor  of  more  thorough  education  in 
the  United  States.  He  defended  the  public 
school  system  of  New  York  in  days  when  the 
undue  preponderance  of  Irish  Roman  Catholics 
of  an  earnest  but  ignorant  type  attacked  it  with 
some  show  of  success.  This  was  the  same  bat- 
tle for  "Godless"  education  as  even  good  Prot- 
estants called  it,  which  he  had  fought  in  Ireland. 

When  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New  School 
Assemblies  took  place  he  was  given  a  representa- 
tive responsibility  in  the  Board  of  Directors  of 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE    231 

Union  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  also  a 
trustee  of  Princeton  College,  and  had  a  good  deal 
to  do  with  obtaining  Dr.  McCosh  as  president  of 
that  institution.  In  Princeton  Seminary  he  was 
also  deeply  interested,  and  rejoiced  at  the  warm 
support  given  that  school  of  learning  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stuart.  After  Dr.  Hodge  had  forgiven  him 
for  his  heresies  on  the  subject  of  eleemosynary 
education,  the  affinity  in  theology  drew  the  two 
men  together,  and  the  warm  and  kindly  temper 
of  Dr.  Hodge  was  always  highly  praised  when- 
ever he  spoke  on  the  subject. 

Along  another  line  quite  outside  the  individual 
Church  much  strength  and  time  was  given  from 
the  first  by  the  newcomer  to  American  shores. 
He  found  the  Sunday-school  instruction  beyond 
all  description  bad.  It  is  weak  and  superficial 
enough  now,  but  then  it  was  far  worse.  The 
International  Sunday-school  Series  had  his  warm- 
est support  and  advocacy.  In  fact  the  Interna- 
tional character  was  largely  due  to  his  influence 
and  exertions.  From  the  beginning  he  sat  with 
the  committee  on  the  lessons,  and  week  after 
week  wrote  expositions  of  those  lessons  for  the 
Sunday-school  World,  the  organ  of  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday-school  Union.  In  later  life  he  went 
off  the  committee  and  felt  in  some  decree  that 


232     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

the  International  Lessons  had  served  their  pur- 
pose. He  was  loyal  to  the  General  Assembly's 
decision  to  establish  a  Sunday-school  Board,  at 
the  same  time  he  had  given  so  much  time  and 
strength  to  the  Interdenominational  Sunday- 
school  work  that  to  the  end  this  aspect  had  his 
most  hearty  sympathy.  One  whole  summer  he 
devoted  to  a  tour  on  behalf  of  the  work  of 
the  Sunday-school  Union,  and  visited  all  the 
larger  places  of  Iowa,  Kansas,  Illinois  and  on  into 
Michigan  working  with  Mr.  Ensign,  and  hold- 
ing night  after  night  great  meetings  the  effects 
of  which  are  yet  felt  in  the  western  work. 

One  of  the  impressions  he  records  on  that  trip 
was  of  a  lack  of  really  highly  cultured  young 
women  as  teachers,  a  lack  more  felt  then  perhaps 
than  now,  and  he  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  work 
of  the  colleges  for  women.  He  had  prejudices 
against  coeducaton,  even  where  he  saw  it  was 
inevitable,  but  as  trustee  for  Wellesley  and  as 
preacher  to  other  such  institutions  he  did  what 
he  could  to  show  his  sense  of  the  need  of  high- 
class  intellectual  work  for  women. 

Much  against  the  advice  of  some  very  near  to 
him,  he  refused  to  acquiesce  in  the  hopelessness 
with  which  some  had  come  to  regard  the  New 
York  University.     His  friend  Dr.  Howard  Crosby 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE    233 

had  without  any  compensation,  and  with  much 
energy  and  tact  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Uni- 
versity as  chancellor.  He  at  last  became,  my 
father  thought,  unnecessarily  discouraged,  and 
the  institution  was  in  actual  danger.  With  the 
new  church  on  his  hands  and  all  the  other  duties 
to  do,  it  seemed  quite  impossible  for  him  to  as- 
sume a  new  responsibility.  But  he  did.  With 
the  title  of  chancellor  pro  tern,  he  at  once  took 
hold,  and  raised  enough  to  insure  the  existence 
of  the  institution.  Then  he  summoned  to  his  aid 
Dr.  MacCracken,  who  became  vice-chancellor, 
and  as  soon  as  the  reins  were  in  his  hands  re- 
lieved my  father  of  responsibility  along  those 
lines.  This  was  in  the  year  1881,  and  he  only 
retired  from  the  position  in  1 891,  when  the  ob- 
vious success  of  the  acting  chancellor.  Dr.  Mac- 
Cracken made  him  no  longer  necessary  to  the 
institution's  success.  It  was  with  profound  con- 
viction that  such  an  institution  of  learning  was 
needed,  even  while  recognizing  the  wide  scope 
of  Columbia  University,  that  the  work  was  done. 
He  was  firmly  persuaded  that  under  existing 
conditions  no  one  place  of  learning  would  repre- 
sent all  the  aspirations  for  higher  education  found 
in  New  York.  He  considered  it  wholesome  for 
both  institutions  that  they  should  prosper  along 


234     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

their  own  lines.  In  his  judgment  there  was  not 
only  room  and  place  for  both,  but  a  very  real 
need  for  both.  How,  he  used  to  ask,  would  any 
Board  of  Trustees  succeed  in  representing  all  the 
conflicting  interests  and  various  educational  ideals 
found  in  our  heterogeneous  population  ?  The 
wisdom  of  his  action  has  been  abundantly  justi- 
fied by  the  success  of  the  institution. 

As  the  education  struggle  in  Ireland  fitted  him 
in  some  degree  for  facing  the  educational  prob- 
lems of  America,  so  also  the  experience  in  the 
missions  of  Connaught  made  him  ever  a  warm 
supporter  of  home  missions  in  his  adopted 
country.  ^  After  the  reconstruction  of  the  Church's 
work  in  connection  with  the  reunion  he  became 
connected  officially  with  the  Home  Board,  and 
served  its  interests  faithfully  until  his  illness  in 
1898  when  he  desired  to  lay  down  his  office  of 
President  of  the  Board.  To  Assembly  after 
Assembly  he  addressed  stirring  appeals  for  the 
cause  he  had  ever  on  his  heart.  He  enlisted  a 
wide  public  sympathy  on  behalf  of  the  West,  and 
his  personal  knowledge  of  the  country  gave  his 
appeals  great  force.  In  his  choice  of  colaborers 
his  fault  was  an  unbounded  but,  alas,  not  always 
well-founded  faith  that  all  men  had  his  enthu- 
siasm and  his  capacity  nnd  willingness  to  work. 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     235 

It  was  at  times  quite  patiietic  to  see  how  wounded 
and  hurt  he  was  by  the  carelessness,  blunders 
and  incompetency  of  those  whom  he  liad  trusted 
as  good  men  with  sincere  professions. 

It  was  in  good  faith  that  he  assumed  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  re- 
united church.  He  felt  himself  to  be  a  repre- 
sentative of  both  wings,  and  he  always  tried  to 
insist  on  fairness  and  justice  in  the  theological 
disputes  some  tried  to  introduce  into  its  work- 
ings. Indignantly  he  repelled  the  suggestion  of 
making  the  Home  Board  representative  of  one 
shade  of  thought  in  the  church.  Many  who 
heard  his  speech,  made  by  courtesy  at  the  As- 
sembly, of  which  he  was  not  a  member,  in  de- 
fense of  the  policy  he  stood  for  in  Pittsburg  in 
1895,  bitterly  resented  it,  but  he  carried  the  As- 
sembly with  him,  and  saved  the  good  faith  and 
the  credit  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions.  At 
that  Assembly  it  had  been  proposed  to  practically 
make  the  Home  Board  the  organ  of  a  particular 
shade  of  theological  opinion.  The  results  of  any 
such  action  would  have  been  disastrous,  yet  un- 
doubtedly the  proposal  would  have  been  carried, 
had  not  my  father  as  the  president  of  the  Board, 
obtained  the  floor  and  in  a  brief  speech  of  great 
power  completely  turned  the  tide. 


236     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

Only  now  and  then  were  the  really  remarkable 
powers  of  persuasion  and  of  debate,  possessed 
by  my  father,  seen  to  their  best  advantage.  He 
both  distrusted  Mr.  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  the- 
ology and  disliked,  what  he  considered,  Beecher's 
superficial  treatment  of  the  older  thought.  He 
had  occasion,  however,  in  his  earlier  life  in  New 
York  to  indirectly  have  a  good  deal  of  intercourse 
with  Mr.  Beecher,  through  Mr.  Robert  Bonner, 
who  was  a  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Beecher's,  and 
continued  so,  until  he  thought  Mr.  Beecher  mis- 
used his  confidence  when  a  certain  coldness  came 
between  the  two  men.  Mr.  Beecher  often  ex- 
pressed a  good  deal  of  admiration  for  the  "  young 
Irishman  with  the  golden  mouth,"  as  he  once  called 
him,  and  got  several  articles  for  his  paper  from  his 
pen.  They  also  met  occasionally  on  the  platform, 
and  at  one  such  meeting  Mr.  Beecher  took  occasion 
to  speak  slightingly  of  Calvin.  This  gave  an  oc- 
casion for  my  father  to  defend  in  courteous,  but 
vigorous  language  what  he  considered  Mr. 
Beecher  had  too  lightly  defamed.  My  father  was 
at  that  time  relatively  unknown,  but  many  who 
were  present,  have  since  told  the  writer  that  they 
never  heard  a  more  able  and  impressive  answer, 
and  never  saw  a  great  audience,  at  the  beginning 
hostile,  so  completely  carried  off  by  enthusiasm 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE    237 

for  that  at  which  a  few  minutes  before  they 
were  laughing  and  jesting  under  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Beecher's  wonderful  powers  of  banter  and 
attack. 

Another  line  of  work  strongly  attracted  my 
father.  He  felt  the  need  of  maintaining  and 
strengthening  the  institutional  church  life  of 
Protestantism  in  the  city.  Both  in  the  work  of 
church  extension  and  in  city  missions  was  he  en- 
gaged faithfully  and  actively  for  many  years. 
He  was,  perhaps,  inclined  to  underestimate  the 
necessity  of  a  variety  in  the  church  work  among 
the  more  floating  populations,  and  to  consider 
extravagant  what  other  men's  experience  taught 
them  to  consider  necessary  expense.  Yet  he 
never  for  one  moment  doubted  that  as  the  city 
was  so  would  the  country  be  soon.  Like  Paul 
he  felt  that  the  city  must  be  captured  and  held  if 
the  cause  of  Christ  and  righteousness  were  to 
triumph.  This  faith  in  institutional  life  showed 
itself  in  his  eagerness  to  advance  church  erection 
over  the  land.  When  the  General  Assembly 
passed  the  very  wise  rule  that  a  minister  should 
have  a  place  on  only  one  board,  against  his  judg- 
ment, and  at  the  request  of  the  Board  of  Church 
Erection  my  father  was  made  a  special  exception, 
and  he  remained  on  both  boards  as  long  as  he 


238     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

thought  he  could  be  useful.  His  special  eager- 
ness being  to  provide  parsonages  as  far  as  pos- 
sible in  connection  with  the  weaker  churches. 
His  arguments  were  that  such  a  "manse"  was 
generally  a  good  investment;  gave  the  minister 
an  official  residence  that  was  there  beyond  criti- 
cism as  "too  shabby  or  too  luxurious";  was  a 
certain  part  of  the  salary  that  could  not  "get 
behindhand";  and  was  to  the  community  a 
certain  guarantee  of  permanence  in  the  church 
life. 

The  literary  ambitions  of  my  father  were 
limited  to  immediate  influence  upon  his  own 
generation.  From  his  earliest  public  life  in  Con- 
naught  he  had  made  use  of  the  public  press. 
Early  he  valued  highly  the  weekly  press,  and  re- 
joiced in  every  opportunity  of  addressing  those 
who  might  in  no  other  way  come  under  his  in- 
fluence. The  enormous  amount  of  literary  work 
he  accomplished  in  the  midst  of  his  other  labors 
seems  well-nigh  incredible.  From  1869  to  about 
1887,  he  must  have  averaged  weekly  an  amount  of 
writing  equal  to  at  least  three  columns  of  the  ordi- 
nary daily  paper.  For  the  New  York  Ledger  he 
wrote  regularly  and  successfully,  and  in  large  de- 
gree considered  it  a  part  of  his  best  work.  His 
articles  had  always  a  moral  and  religious  aim, 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     239 

and  yet  they  were  read  by  thousands  whose  lives 
he  could  in  no  other  way  touch.  Dr.  Theodore 
D.  Cuyler  has  often  emphasized  the  "'pen  and 
the  weekly  press,"  and  along  the  same  lines  my 
father  steadily  worked.  With  the  exception  of 
a  little  volume  of  "  Papers  for  Home  Reading  " 
published  by  Dodd  and  Mead  he  refused  to  even 
attempt  to  give  a  permanent  form  to  these  wri- 
tings. He  said  of  them  as  of  sermons  that  the 
thought  of  writing  for  posterity  would  detract 
from  their  power  for  the  present.  All  his  liter- 
ary work  sprang  thus  from  his  sense  of  immedi- 
ate need.  Early  he  published  a  volume  of 
"  Family  Prayers  "  because  he  found  many  com- 
ing over  to  evangelical  Protestantism  who  knew 
not  how  to  pray,  save  as  they  had  some  printed 
guidance.  He  followed  Mr.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  in  the  Yale  Lecture  Course  on  Preaching, 
with  a  series  of  simple,  but  direct  lectures  on 
"  God's  Word  through  Preaching"  (Dodd,  Mead 
and  Co.,  New  York).  For  the  American  Sunday- 
school  Union  he  once  wrote  a  volume  on  "  The 
Christian  Home"  1883,  and  one  of  the  tasks  in 
which  he  took  great  delight  towards  the  close  of 
his  life  was  a  volume  of  daily  texts  with  com- 
ments called  "Light  Upon  My  Path"  published 
by  Brentano.     He  had  no  ambition  to  shine  either 


240     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

as  a  profound  thinker,  or  as  a  literary  genius. 
Yet  all  that  he  wrote  is  marked  by  the  utmost 
refinement  of  feeling  for  style  and  balance  of 
sentence.  And  all  his  writings  breathe  the  clear, 
simple  manly  common  sense,  that  made  him  the 
ready  helper  of  so  many  thousands. 

He  never  overestimated  his  own  powers,  in- 
deed he  rather  underestimated  them,  and  what- 
ever he  did  he  did  with  a  certain  force  and  direct- 
ness peculiarly  his  own.  He  actually  objected 
to  publishing  or  printing  his  sermons  and  ad- 
dresses, and  in  the  few  cases  in  which  this  was 
done  he  generally  appended  an  apology.  Yet 
naturally  many  such  sermons  and  addresses 
found  their  way  into  print.  Some  he  revised 
himself,  but  generally  all  he  attempted  was  to 
correct  with  his  own  pen  any  slips  and  obscur- 
ities. 

In  all  his  literary  work,  as  in  his  preaching 
what  he  regarded  as  the  "Gospel"  shines  out. 
He  had  a  definite  system  of  theology ;  and  he  at- 
tached importance  to  it.  Most  clearly  was  he  in 
the  habit  of  stating  such  positions  in  the  lecture- 
room  on  Wednesday  evening,  or  to  his  Ladies' 
Bible  class  on  a  week-day  afternoon.  Yet  even 
then  it  was  not  a  theology  he  taught  so  much  as 
a  message  he  delivered.     His  theological  system 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     241 

was  the  eclectic  evangelical  Calvinism  prev- 
alent in  evangelical  circles  in  the  United  King- 
dom, after  the  great  religious  movem'ents  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century.  It  lacked  the  sharp  defi- 
nite structure  of  the  theologies  of  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  but  more  than  made  up  for  that  by  the 
gentleness  of  tone,  and  the  emphasis  upon  God 
as  the  believer's  Father.  It  is  a  dangerous  thing 
to  attempt  to  formulate  any  one  else's  faith  in  a 
few  words,  and  yet  so  simple  and  so  clear  were 
the  outlines  of  the  system  that  underlay  all  my 
father's  preaching  and  teaching  that  justice  can  at 
least  be  partly  done  to  it. 

He  accepted  simply  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
as  a  mystery,  but  a  mystery  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
declared,  and  in  its  declaration  was  an  aid  to  faith 
and  devotion.  At  one  time  he  was  attracted  to 
the  "  Kenosis"  or  "  emptying  "  theory  to  explain 
the  twofold  nature  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  soon 
turned  definitely  away  from  it  and  all  explana- 
tions, preaching  simply  the  perfect  manhood, 
and  absolute  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  Here 
again  he  accepted  the  modifications  in  Christol- 
ogy  brought  about  by  the  evangelical  revival, 
and  Jesus  as  the  man  suffering  with  us  had  con- 
stant place  in  his  proclamation.  Once  in  the 
early  days  of  his  ministry  in  New  York  he  was 


242     THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

asked  to  preach  at  Harvard,  and  knowing  some- 
thing, by  report,  of  the  atmosphere  there  he  de- 
termined to  preach  Jesus  as  attractively  but  as 
strongly  as  he  courteously  could.  He  had  met 
Dr.  Peabody  on  his  trip  to  America,  in  1867,  but 
in  some  way  did  not  recognize  him  on  the  plat- 
form. Dr.  Peabody  walked  home  with  him  and 
spoke  so  warmly  of  the  sermon  that  my  father 
assumed  that  his  companion  was  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  the  trinitarian  position,  and  said 
something  about  his  object  in  thus  speaking; 
then  Dr.  Peabody  made  himself  known  and  re- 
marked that  if  Jesus  Christ  had  been  so  presented 
in  the  days  of  the  Unitarian  struggle,  many 
would  have  kept  their  places  in  evangelical 
circles.  He  held  firmly  to  the  theory  of  the 
atonement  as  a  sacrifice  to  satisfy  an  abstract  out- 
raged Justice;  but  held  that  God's  love  vindi- 
cated itself  in  providing  the  ransom  and  in  ac- 
cepting the  substitution;  thus  as  he  saw  it,  main- 
taining the  moral  order  of  the  universe  and 
revealing  the  Father's  love.  At  the  same  time  he 
definitely  proclaimed  this  theory  only  as  the  one 
that  satisfied  his  judgment  best,  while  having 
patience  with  other  theories  so  long  as  the  sacrificial 
nature  of  the  atonement  was  involved. 
His  theory  of  inspiration  remained  an  unshaken 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE     243 

faith  that  whatever  errors  transcription  might 
have  introduced  into  the  pages  as  we  have  them, 
that  inerrancy  in  a  very  strict  sense  was  to  be  at- 
tributed to  the  inspired  word.  In  early  life  he 
had  attacked  with  a  good  deal  of  severity  the 
premilleniarian  views  so  frequently  found  in 
evangelical  circles.  Though  he  never  adopted 
them  he  became  markedly  more  patient  with 
them  in  later  life,  and  clung  to  the  faith  that  the 
Jews  as  a  nation  were  yet  to  be  converted,  and 
that  then  the  "fullness  of  the  Gentiles"  would 
come  in.  Rather  remarkable,  indeed,  is  the  his- 
tory of  this  hope.  He  had  it  from  his  mother, 
who  in  turn  had  it  from  her  cousin  the  Rev. 
Wm.  Magowan  who  was  minister  in  Mount 
Norris,  where  stood  the  parish  church,  and  who 
baptized  my  father.  Mr.  Magowan  gave  a  great 
deal  of  time  and  strength  to  work  for  converting 
the  Jews,  and  when  the  mother  was  compelled 
to  say  good-bye  to  her  eldest  son  going  as  a 
minister  to  New  York,  she  left  on  record  the  fact 
that  in  her  sorrow  her  one  comfort  was  that  her 
"boy  would  be  preaching  to  many  nations,  and 
might  evangelize  many  of  God's  Israel." 

In  the  refinements  of  theological  speculation 
he  had  little  interest.  For  him  the  theology  that 
resolved  the  doubts  of  the  ordinary  theologically 


244    THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

untrained  hearer  was  sufficient.  He  knew  noth- 
ing of  German  speculative  theology,  and  was  in- 
clined to  regard  it  as  useless  if  not  dangerous,  at 
the  same  time  felt  that  a  trained  minister  who 
had  the  opportunity  should  master  it  if  he  could. 
Very  early  in  the  theological  training  of  the  pres- 
ent writer  he  advised  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
French  and  German,  and  more  than  once  he  him- 
self undertook  the  study  of  French.  Yet  he  did 
not  feel  the  necessity  for  his  own  thought  of 
work  along  the  directions  of  modern  speculation, 
and  scientific  enquiry.  He  was  apt  to  distrust 
new  phraseology,  and  felt  even  some  measure  of 
impatience  with  those  whom  the  older  phrases 
no  longer  satisfied,  and  who  were  compelled  to 
recast  the  forms  in  which  faith  was  expressed, 
in  a  life  of  such  ceaseless  activity,  in  a  theology 
in  which  a  deep  and  constant  Christian  experi- 
ence was  the  real  basis,  the  intellectual  elements 
although  not  wanting  did  not  play  the  principal 
part.  There  was  firm  faith  that  the  system  of 
evangelical  teachings,  that  even  the  round  of 
evangelical  formulae  which  seemed  most  conso- 
nant with  Scripture,  would  stand  the  most 
searching  tests,  but  the  application  of  those  tests 
my  father  was  content  to  leave  to  others.  And 
for  the  most  part  he  confined  himself  to  the  facts 


AND  ENLARGING  INFLUENCE    245 

of  Christian  experience,  and  had  therefore  among 
those  whom  he  deeply  influenced  many  whose 
intellectual  life  and  whose  intellectualconvictions 
differed  greatly  from  his  own. 


X.     HOME  LIFE  AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS 


SOLILOQUY  AMONG  THE  HILLS' 

DR.    JOHN    HALL 

From  joys  like  those,  that  cannot  be  defined, 

Part  of  the  hills  and  earth,  and  part  of  God. 

From  nearness  and  the  sense  of  it,  the  step 

To  silence  absolute,  is  too  abrupt.     One  must 

Send  up  into  the  hills  a  "  Benedicite." 

Would  it  could  be  forever  audible  ! 

Yet  why  ?     It  will,  one  knows,  forever  fall 

Where  I  would  have  it,  audibly  or  not. 

No  answering  voice  is  hoped,  or  needed  here : 

It  is  enough  to  know  of  kindly  thoughts 

That  lift  up  and  transfigure,  judging  one 

By  what  he  should  be,  not  by  what  he  is, 

And  murmured  blessings,  sympathies,  and  prayers ; 

And  that  perchance  the  sense  of  human  love, 

For  love's  sake  living  in  another's  breast. 

May — as  the  hills  though  lower  touch  the  heaven. 

Suggest  the  Love  Divine,  and  all  that  it  has  given. 

'  Probably  written  in  Wales  about  1873. 


248 


HOME  LIFE  AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS 

HUMOR.  FREEDOM  IN  EDUCATION.  AMUSEMENTS.  THE 
VACATION.  SAN  FRANCISCO.  ILLNESS.  MOTHER'S  DEATH. 
NEPHEW'S  DEATH.  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS.  ON  BOARD 
SHIP.  GERMANY.  ATTEMPTED  ASSASSINATION.  THE 
PRESS.    ABSURD  REPORTS. 

INTIMATELY  bound  up  with  his  work  as 
preacher  and  teacher  was  the  home  life  of  the 
father  and  friend.  To  many  the  extreme  earnest- 
ness of  the  pulpit  ministrations  seemed  to  exclude 
any  humorous  side,  as  my  father  never  raised  a 
laugh  or  even  often  caused  a  smile  while  preach- 
ing. At  the  same  time  he  was  gifted  with  a 
keen  sense  of  humor,  had  many  a  good  story, 
and  in  public  address  had  a  most  happy  way  of 
putting  the  audience  in  touch  with  him  by  some 
whimsical  remark.  Yet  even  here  the  smile  was 
merely  a  means  to  an  end,  and  the  end  was  sel- 
dom merely  amusement. 

The  present  writer  does  not  know  whether 
any  special  pedagogic  theories  ever  occupied  the 
father's  attention,  but  the  circumstances  of  a 
changing  field  of  work  did  somewhat   disturb 

the   educational    plans    for  the  family.     In  the 
249 


250  HOME  LIFE 

home  books  were  on  hand  on  all  sorts  of  subjects, 
and  interest  in  a  great  variety  of  topics  was  cul- 
tivated. The  home  life  included  great  freedom 
of  both  thought  and  action.  A  note  in  a  stray 
engagement  book  marks  the  fact  "  to-day  secured 
for  Dick,  Darwin's  '  Descent  of  Man.'  "  As  the 
boy  was  only  then  fifteen  and  Darwin  in  1874 
was  being  denounced  from  nearly  every  pulpit, 
and  in  the  columns  of  the  weekly  religious  press 
as  the  arch-destroyer  of  the  faith,  and  as  my 
father  himself,  so  far  as  the  present  writer's 
knowledge  goes,  never  accepted  Darwin's  views, 
such  an  entry  marks  the  spirit  of  freedom  in  which 
the  family  grew  up.  To  some  degree  the  very 
catholicity  of  the  man  sprang  from  the  sure  faith 
in  him  that  he  had  common  sense  and  truth  on 
his  side  so  evidently  and  so  strongly  that  it  only 
needed  statement  to  convince  any  right  under- 
standing. He  felt  that  things  must  be  argued 
out,  and  had  little  fear  as  to  the  ultimate  result  of 
the  argument.  Moreover  his  dealings  with  Roman 
Catholic  methods,  and  his  strong  Protestantism 
made  him,  as  it  made  Dr.  Henry  Cooke  his 
teacher,  afraid  of  suppressive  measures.  Free- 
dom of  teaching  was  such  a  dire  necessity  in  Ire- 
land that  anything  that  seemed  to  threaten  it  he 
saw  to  be  a  calamity.     Given  a  fair  field  and  he 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  251 

felt  fully  persuaded  that  the  system  of  evangel- 
ical theology  must  in  the  end  win  the  day. 

The  great  big  preacher,  who  so  often'towered 
on  the  platform  above  all  the  rest,  was  exceed- 
ingly gentle.  He  could  be  pained  and  vexed, 
but  probably  no  one  ever  saw  him  angry.  Chil- 
dren took  naturally  to  him,  and  climbed  up  with- 
out fear  on  his  knee  to  hear  a  repeating  watch, 
kept  largely  for  their  amusement,  strike  the  hours 
and  minutes.  And  hence  he  could  talk  and  write 
to  children.  Although  his  preaching  was  often 
on  a  devotional  and  spiritual  level  far  above  a 
child's  comprehension,  yet  his  language  seldom 
was  so,  and  as  children  we  and  our  childish  com- 
panions dreaded  any  other  preacher  taking  his 
place  in  the  pulpit.  The  most  distinct  childish 
impressions  are  of  a  very  busy  man,  always  hav- 
ing something  that  had  to  be  done  at  a  special 
time,  and  of  one  who  now  and  then  greatly  re- 
joiced all  the  children's  hearts  by  taking  "a  long 
walk"  with  them.  Into  the  study  the  children 
were  always  free  to  go,  to  get  a  piece  of  paper,  a 
bit  of  string  or  a  word  of  help,  and  the  usual 
greeting  was  "Well,  dear,  what  can  I  do  for 
you  ?  "  The  study  was  the  scene  of  the  wildest 
disorder.  Letters,  clippings,  magazines  with  the 
leaves  turned  down,  filled  every  nook  and  corner. 


252  HOME  LIFE 

The  bookcases  and  the  very  walls  were  decorated 
with  half-sheets  of  paper  containing  engagements, 
notices,  addresses,  memoranda  of  all  kinds.  In 
the  earlier  life  such  was  the  power  of  memory 
possessed  that  each  piece  of  paper  could  be  turned 
to,  and  each  letter  was  at  hand.  In  later  years  a 
search  had  occasionally  to  be  entered  upon,  and 
the  reforming  spirit  once  or  twice  took  hold  of 
the  chaos,  and  order  reigned — for  a  little  while. 
"It  is,"  he  said  occasionally,  "my  litter-ary 
workshop,"  and  the  litter  none  dare  ruthlessly 
touch  lest  some  important  letter  on  the  top  might 
hide  itself  at  the  bottom.  He  read  rapidly  and 
miscellaneously  and  more  than  once  remarked 
that  "  it  had  to  be  a  very  bad  book  from  which 
one  could  not  get  something."  The  writings  of 
Whately  influenced  him  deeply,  and  books  of 
pure  theology  did  not  attract  him.  Refined  spec- 
ulation, or  abstract  critical  processes  were  not 
congenial  ground.  His  amusements  were  of  the 
simplest  character.  He  played  now  and  then  a 
game  of  "draughts"'  or  "checkers,"  and  played 
a  very  good  game.  Now  and  then,  though 
very,  very  rarely,  he  went  to  a  concert,  and 
nothing  pleased  him  so  much  as  a  httle  music 
in  the  home.  He  had  no  systematic  knowledge 
of  music,  yet  picked  out  what  pleased  him,  and 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  253 

the  opening  movement  of  the  "moonHght" 
sonata  by  Beethoven  was  what  he  most  admired, 
although  he  did  not  realize  at  all  the  historic  po- 
sition of  Beethoven  as  a  composer,  and  knew  it  as 
"the  piece  that  Jenny  plays."  On  the  continent 
he  was  fond  of  spending  an  evening  at  a  music- 
garden,  and  watched  the  program  with  some 
amusement  over  the  unfamiliar  names.  What 
pleased  him  best  in  these  performances  were  the 
marches  from  the  works  of  Wagner,  and  the 
somewhat  wild  Hungarian  music  made  popular 
by  Brahms. 

He  seldom  had  time  for  even  "a  walk,"  merely 
as  a  walk,  but  often  he  found  a  few  visits  had  to 
be  made  out  of  the  regular  round,  and  then  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  him  to  summon  one  of  us  to 
enjoy  with  him  a  stroll  on  the  way.  Wild 
scenery  attracted  him  most  strongly,  and  the 
lonely  desolation  of  Colorado  made  a  deep  im- 
pression on  him,  but  for  pictorial  art  he  had  but 
little  feeling. 

Sometimes  those  near  him  thought  he  sacrificed 
too  much  of  his  time  and  strength  and  self  for  the 
sake  of  heeding  all  sorts  of  outside  claims  upon 
him.  He  ministered  to  all  who  came.  The 
house  had  almost  no  protection  for  him,  from 
morning  to  evening  a  stream  of  callers,  generally 


254  HOME  LIFE 

on  their  own  errands,  stormed  the  door,  and  when 
at  home  he  saw  them  all.  Scarcely  an  uninter- 
rupted meal  was  ever  his  portion,  and  only  in 
the  late  hours  of  the  night  could  he  be  sure  of 
any  seclusion. 

Of  social  life  in  the  strict  sense  he  knew  almost 
nothing.  A  rare  dinner-party,  once  or  twice  a 
speech  at  a  public  banquet,  now  and  then  a  few 
friends  to  "  tea  "  was  all  the  formal  social  life  he 
ever  had.  He  avoided  purely  social  functions, 
and  had  no  time  for  formal  entertainment.  On 
Sunday  evenings  the  tea-table  welcomed  a  num- 
ber of  young  men,  some  the  friends  of  his  sons, 
some  "strangers,"  some  the  sons  of  old  Irish 
friends,  who  had  their  homes  in  America.  Yet 
he  rarely  was  able  to  sit  through  that  meal,  for  an 
engagement  to  preach  somewhere  would  compel 
him  to  excuse  himself  and  hurry  away  leaving 
some  course  untouched.  As  he  walked  the 
streets  he  thought  out  his  sermons  and  articles, 
often  making  a  note  or  two  on  an  envelope  while 
waiting  for  the  family  called  upon  to  appear. 

He  was  always  gentle  and  considerate,  with  a 
native  grace  that  art  could  add  little  to,  and  there 
was  absolutely  no  difference  in  the  way  he  spoke 
to  or  treated  the  most  exalted  rank  or  the  most 
ignorant  servant  girl.     To  all  he  was  the  same 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  255 

kindly,  fatherly  gentleman.  He  attached  im- 
portance to  good  manners,  and  lamented  some- 
times the  "  boorishness "  of  other  wise  useful 
ministers.  To  an  Irish  theological  student  he 
wrote  urging  him  to  make  the  most  of  some 
home  life  in  Belfast  as  "an  opportunity  of  culti- 
vating the  Christian  refinement  a  minister  so 
much  needs." 

He  was  himself  also  extremely  active  for  so 
large  a  man,  and  many  will  ever  remember  a 
certain  grace  and  dignity  with  which  he  mounted 
the  pulpit.  He  had  a  love  for  order  and  rever- 
ence in  church  services,  though  disliking  all  elab- 
orate ritual.  His  taste  in  these  matters  was 
refined  and  simple,  and  nothing  annoyed  him  so 
much  in  the  pulpit,  or  on  the  platform  as  to  have 
a  fussy  man  whispering  arrangements,  choosing 
hymns,  arranging  the  parts  of  the  service.  He 
felt  that  all  such  things  could  and  should  be  ar- 
ranged beforehand,  noted  on  paper,  and  then 
carried  out  without  distraction  and  fuss. 

So  busy  a  life  needed  year  by  year  change  and 
rest.  Hence  each  summer  was  given  over  to 
"vacations."  In  point  of  fact  more  work  was 
often  accomplished  in  such  a  "  vacation  "  than  the 
average  man  gets  done  in  his  busy  season.  Ex- 
cept for  a  few  weeks  on  the  continent  my  father 


256  HOME  LIFE 

generally  preached  every  Sunday  the  year  round, 
and  often  once  or  twice  in  the  week.  In  Ireland 
or  England  he  was  in  constant  demand,  and 
raised  debts,  laid  corner-stones,  and  preached 
special  sermons  by  way  of  recreation.  Yet  the 
vacation  was  both  rest  and  change  for  him.  The 
burden  of  his  pastoral  visitation  was  laid  down. 
He  also  gained  from  his  travels  new  inspirations 
and  materials  for  his  ceaseless  production  of  ser- 
mons and  articles.  All  through  the  vacations  his 
literary  work  went  on.  He  would  pause  a  day 
on  his  journey  to  complete  a  Sunday-school 
lesson  or  finish  a  contribution  promised  to  some 
review  or  newspaper. 

The  first  trips  to  the  continent  as  already  men- 
tioned were  made  from  Dublin,  when  Paris,  Rome, 
Switzerland,  the  Rhine  and  the  principal  places 
of  interest  along  the  tourists'  highroad  were 
visited.  Again  in  1869  he  visited  the  continent 
and  kept  a  careful  diary  of  the  journey.  At  Bern 
he  records  the  fact  that  he  "saw  the  Federal 
Parliament  in  session.  It  resembles  in  arrange- 
ments the  Senate  of  the  United  States  and  is 
orderly  and  impressive,"  and  he  was  impressed 
again  and  again  by  the  "views  from  the  passes 
of  rugged,  bare,  bold,  precipitous  rocks,  of  cliffs 
overhanging  mighty  depths,  of  the  angry  rivers 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  257 

chafing  along  through  hindering  rocks  as  they 
dashed  in  mad  leaps  down  the  mountainsides,  and 
then  of  bits  of  utter  and  dreary  desolation,  where 
rugged  nature  wars  with  man  as  an  intruder 
upon  her  solitude;  and  of  quiet  strength  and 
confidence  as  snow-capped  peaks  lift  themselves 
up  into  the  blue  of  heaven,  far-reaching  even 
over  cloud  and  storm." 

That  same  year  he  made  a  little  trip  alone  to 
Oxford  and  Cambridge,  but  felt  a  little  lonely,  in 
fact  so  much  so  "as  almost  to  destroy  at  times 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  places  which  I  have  wanted 
to  see  for  twenty  years,  but  for  which  1  had 
neither  time  nor  money  until  now."  The  first 
sermon  he  heard  in  London  was  by  Spurgeon, 
"a  magnificent  and  yet  simple  sermon."  The 
continental  services  were  less  pleasing,  although 
he  attended  them  regularly.  At  one  place  the 
journal  remarks  with  some  force  "thence  to  the 
Rue (Paris)  where  we  saw  and  heard  a  ser- 
mon! From  the  intolerable  affectation  of  the 
preacher,  it  was  fitted  to  do  only  evil  to  most 
people.  The  honest  and  painful  truth  is  that 
since  we  set  out  we  did  not  hear  one  thoroughly 
good  sermon  or  enjoy  a  genuine  service  any- 
where!" In  1872  a  visit  was  made  by  the  whole 
family  to  California.     This  really  tremendous  un- 


258  HOME  LIFE 

dertaking  turned  out  very  well,  and  everywhere 
meetings  and  preaching  made  his  voice  known 
on  the  western  coast.  In  an  article  for  the  New 
York  Ledger  he  marked  some  of  his  impres- 
sions of  Yosemite  valley. 

"It  is  after  midday,  and  a  cool  wind  is  sing- 
ing through  the  pines,  the  sound  of  which  it  is 
impossible  to  distinguish  from  that  of  the  falls 
in  front  of  this  hotel. 

"The  valley  runs  about  east  and  west,  and  the 
east  end  is  called  the  head.  It  is  any  length  you 
please  under  ten  miles,  according  as  you  fix  its 
ending  or  its  beginning.  It  is  about  a  mile 
broad  in  the  level  portion,  and  if  one  includes 
the  gradual  rise  to  the  precipices  formed  by 
fallen  debris,  it  is  rather  more  from  rock  to  rock. 
The  points  about  it  are  not  the  great  height  of 
the  surrounding  mountains,  but  their  nearness, 
which  implies  their  steepness,  and  the  impress- 
ive forms  they  assume, 

"  Once  in  the  valley,  the  sights  are  the  follow- 
ing: Bridal  Veil  Fall  goes  with  Inspiration  Point; 
Vernal  and  Nevada  Falls,  at  the  head  or  east  end 
of  the  valley,  occupy  a  day  profitably,  and  if  you 
have  come  in  by  Inspiration  Point,  another  day 
is  due  to  Glacier  Point.  Having  reached  this 
elevation,  let  no  tourist  return  without  riding  to 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  259 

the  top  of  Sentinel  Dome — the  only  dome  he  is 
likely  to  climb,  and  from  which  he  can  look  all 
around  without  obstruction.  Unicorn  Mount, 
the  Cloud's  Rest,  Mount  Hoffman,  Mount  Clark, 
Starr  King,  and  the  Red  Mountains,  are  before 
him  on  the  north  and  east,  while  westward  he 
looks  down  the  valley,  and  sees  how  it  merges 
in  the  general  sea  of  great  rolling  granite  billows. 
From  this  point  also  he  can  cultivate  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  solemn  friends  to  whose  white 
heads  he  looked  up  from  the  valley.  There  is 
North  Dome,  now  seen  to  be  rounded  only  on 
three  sides,  on  the  fourth  ending  a  long  moun- 
tain ridge.  There  is  Washington  Column,  which 
looks  as  if  set  up  to  secure  the  dome  against  any 
risk  of  toppling  over  into  the  river  below.  To 
the  right  of  it  is  South  Dome,  the  western  half  of 
it  fallen  out  apparently,  itself  hard,  bare  and  in- 
accessible. Watkins  Mount,  Mount  Broderick, 
and  other  elevations,  are  under  his  eye.  So  is 
the  entrance  to  the  little  Yosemite;  so  are  the 
Nevada  and  Vernal  Falls;  while  turning  towards 
the  west,  Sentinel  Rock  and  El  Capitan,  both 
precipitous,  keep  watch  from  opposite  sides  over 
the  valley;  and  far  away,  till  the  eye  fails  even 
in  this  clear  atmosphere,  there  lie  the  great  waves 
of  granite,  with  all  the  intervals  between  them 


26o  HOME  LIFE 

well  covered  with  firs  and  pines,  which  thrive  in 
the  soil  and  disintegrated  granite  the  great  ice- 
ploughs  raised  and  left  for  them,  when  the 
glaciers  covered  all  the  slopes  of  the  Pacific. 

"  One  of  the  prettiest  sights  in  the  valley  is  at 
early  morning  and  in  the  evening,  when  light  is 
clear  and  bright  on  the  domes  and  peaks,  and 
the  shadows  still  linger  below.  No  high  degree 
of  imagination  or  of  devoutness  is  needed  to 
suggest  the  'light  sown  for  the  righteous,'  when 
they  live  an  elevated  and  pure  life,  and  so  enjoy 
more  than  common  men  of  the  'beauty  of  the 
Lord.'" 

In  a  letter  of  that  year  from  San  Francisco  to 
his  mother  he  writes,  "We  set  out  to-morrow 
morning  for  a  six  days'  railway  journey  across 
the  continent,  after  a  most  pleasant  month  in  this 
city  and  state.  I  have  preached  ten  times  these 
ten  days.  We  shall  be  in  New  York  again  about 
the  1 2th  of  September,  the  three  boys  going  to 
college  the  13th.  Our  hope  is,  that  God  willing, 
our  next  long  journey  will  be  to  you,  in  the 
summer  of  1873." 

In  the  summer  of  1870  a  very  severe  attack  of 
malarial  fever  or  mild  attack  of  typhoid  nearly 
cost  my  father  his  life,  and  although  he  spent  a 
good  many  summers  in  America  after  that  it  was 


DR.  JOHN  HALL'S  MOTHER 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  261 

always  with  some  misgivings  on  the  part  of  his 
medical  advisers,  and  later  on  he  went  almost 
regularly  over  the  ocean  for  change  and  rest. 
One  summer  however  he  spent,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  touring  the  west  in  the  interests  of 
the  Sunday-school  Union,  and  informing  himself 
quietly  about  home  mission  matters.  That  was 
in  1874,  and  in  1876  he  crossed  on  the  sad  oc- 
casion of  losing  his  aged  and  tenderly  loved 
mother,  who  passed  away  at  an  advanced  age. 
To  that  mother  the  son  had  been  nothing  but 
comfort,  and  she  slept  in  peace  in  the  arms  of 
Him  whom  she  taught  her  son  to  love,  reverence 
and  proclaim. 

It  was  always  a  great  source  of  pleasure  for 
my  father  to  stop  a  little  in  London,  to  walk  its 
crowded  streets,  to  climb  up  on  the  top  of  a 
"bus"  and  discourse  with  'Arry  who  answered 
him  in  his  best  cockney,  with  a  short  pipe  be- 
tween his  teeth.  Not  even  advancing  years  pre- 
vented the  indulgence  in  this  diversion,  even 
when  the  climb  up  to  the  top  of  a  swaying  Lon- 
don bus  seemed  to  include  for  him  a  measure  of 
danger. 

The  House  of  Commons  was  always  one  of 
his  pleasures,  and  there  we  heard  together  the 
debate  on  Irish  Home  Rule  question  when  Par- 


262  HOME  LIFE 

nell  kept  the  House  together  all  night.  The  im- 
pressions of  that  debate  are  recorded  in  a  letter 
printed  in  a  weekly  paper. 

"The  night  which  the  present  writer  gave  to 
the  House  was  occupied  by  a  debate  on  Irish 
Home  Rule,  and  gave  a  good  opportunity  to  note 
the  characteristics  of  the  House  as  developed  in 
recent  years.  To  state  these  as  they  appeared,  is 
the  purpose  of  this  column. 

"When  I  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
House,  a  certain  freedom  and  ease  of  speech,  of 
which  Lord  Palmerston  was  the  type,  had  begun 
to  displace  the  formal,  stately,  and  Johnsonian 
style  which  Disraeli  at  first  affected.  Mr.  Bright 
appeared  to  me  to  have  the  happy  medium  as 
between  the  two.  He  spoke  plain  English, 
largely  Saxon,  and  with  an  ease  that  did  not  sac- 
rifice dignity.  In  those  days  the  speaker  was 
addressed  throughout,  and  personalities  were 
rare.  The  change  in  this  respect  is  amazing. 
Take  an  instance.  An  opposition  leader,  leaning 
both  arms  on  the  table,  and  looking  over  it  into 
the  faces  of  'the  government,'  says — 'The 
course  you  are  now  taking  is  a  sham.'  '  No,  no,' 
cry  members  on  the  government  side.  '  The 
course  you  are  taking  is  a  sham,'  repeats  the  hon- 
orable member,  and  the  'No,  no,'  comes  again. 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  263 

'  If  honorable  members  will  persist  in  their  "No, 
no,"  they  will  oblige  me  to  repeat  my  assertion: 
The  course  you  are  taking  is  a  sham,'' — and,  true 
to  his  threat,  he  repeated  it  till  the  'No,  no,'  was 
given  up  in  despair.  This  incident  is  a  specimen 
of  a  new  style  introduced  into  the  debates,  which 
— with  charges  of  inconsistency,  double-minded- 
ness,  insincerity  and  the  like — does  not  indicate 
advance  in  the  direction  of  dignity. 

"  It  is  known  to  most  of  our  readers  that  mem- 
bers wear  their  hats,  unless  when  speaking  or 
going  in  or  out  of  the  house.  As  the  morning 
came  in — the  writer  remained  till  after  two 
o'clock — many  were  asleep  and  their  easy  atti- 
tudes corresponded.  Indeed,  on  the  side  galleries 
a  couple  of  gentlemen  stretched  themselves,  and 
— one  wishes  to  be  parliamentary — slept  so  au- 
dibly that  had  they  been  on  the  floor  the  speaker 
might  have  been  expected  to  call  out  '  order.'  It 
is  easy  to  see  how  in  such  conditions  the  tone  of 
a  meeting  goes  down,  and  men  readily  glide  into 
what  would  hardly  seem  gentlemanly.  A  mem- 
ber, for  example,  makes  his  speech,  and  the  next 
speaker  says  on  rising:  'The  honorable  member 
who  has  just  sat  down,  entered  the  House  eight- 
een months  ago,  and  made  the  speech  to  which 
we  have  listened  to-night,  and  many  time^  be- 


264  HOME  LIFE 

fore.  If  the  honorable  gentleman  has  nothing 
else  to  say  he  should  save  the  time  of  the  House.' 
It  is  common  to  credit  Americans  with  very  free 
speech,  but  after  twenty  years'  familiarity  with 
American  public  meetings,  the  writer  remembers 
nothing  more  free — in  the  sense  of  defective  dig- 
nity— than  portions  of  this  debate." 

Often  as  he  crossed  the  sea  yet  the  voyage  al- 
ways interested  my  father.  In  one  place  he  gives 
an  amusing  description  of  the  more  unpleasant 
side  of  the  trip.  He  at  first  having  suffered  as 
others  do. 

"But,  on  the  first  day,  if  the  weather  be  pro- 
pitious, the  deck  is  well  covered  with  people  in 
their  land  costume.  Introductions  are  being  en- 
joyed; reminiscences  are  being  exchanged.  *We 
crossed  together  on  the  Germania,  or  the  Servia, 
was  it?'  The  sea  is  smooth,  the  sky  is  bright. 
'What  an  auspicious  start  we  are  having,'  say 
the  passengers  to  one  another.  Pleasant  groups 
are  gathered  together,  and  the  'pleasures  of 
hope'  are  enjoyed  in  common.  Old  sea-goers 
are  selecting  the  places  for  their  chairs,  and  ma- 
king little  arrangements,  and  when  the  first  meal 
is  served  the  tables  are  crowded.  The  afternoon 
changes  matters  a  little.  '  The  sea  is  treacherous, 
you  know.'     Some  were  very  busy  before  start- 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  265 

ing,  and  need  a  little  rest.  Some  are  very — well, 
there  is  no  use  in  hiding  it — uncornfortable — in 
fact,  seasick. 

"There  are  two  experiences  on  board  which 
notably  interfere  with  comfort.  The  one  is  fog. 
The  Atlantic  is  an  admirable  ocean,  particularly 
our  side  of  it,  where  it  touches  Coney  Island, 
Long  Branch,  Newport  and  Narragansett;  but  it 
is  subject  to  fogs,  especially  as  one  approaches 
the  slice  of  it  that  British  America  claims.  No 
doubt  if  the  Atlantic  were  put  on  its  defense  it 
could  defend  itself.  *  if  cold  waves  and  currents 
come  down  from  the  north  and  mingle  with  my 
genial  waters  how  can  1  help  it  ? '  But  whatever 
the  defense,  the  fact  as  seen  by  the  eye,  felt  all 
over  the  body  and  damp  clothes,  and  forced  into 
the  ears  by  the  foghorn  is  real  and  depressing. 
And  when  your  cautious  captain,  mindful  of  the 
collision  in  which  the  Celtic  and  Britannic  hurt 
one  another,  (how  long  Celts  and  Britons  have 
been  in  collision  and  with  what  painful  conse- 
quences!)— when  the  captain  slows  down  and 
even  stops  the  ship,  what  gloom  and  suspense 
fill  the  thick,  dull  atmosphere! 

"It  is  a  comfort  that  fog  and  storm  do  not 
come  together.  The  latter  is  the  second  dis- 
turber of  the  peace.     '  Isn't  there  a  little  more 


266  HOME  LIFE 

motion  in  the  ship?'  'The  wind,  I  think,  is  ri- 
sing a  little.'  '  Has  it  been  blowing  here  ?  There 
does  not  seem  wind  enough  to  make  these 
waves.'  'I  think  I'll  go  below;'  and  he  or  she 
goes,  rather  nervously  and  unceremoniously — 
these,  with  the  closing  of  the  port-holes,  and  the 
placing  of  '  guards '  on  the  tables,  and  the  very 
marked  decrease  of  occupants  of  them,  are 
among  the  symptoms  of  'a.  little  rough  weather.' 
You  go  on  deck  for  the  fresh  air,  but  it  is  cold 
and  damp.  You  have  to  lean  right  or  left  as  you 
walk,  to  watch  against  a  salt  shower-bath,  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  of  sailors  settling  ropes,  to 
watch  your  feet.  You  decide  to  'go  down.'  It 
is  a  little  diificult  to  manage  things  below.  That 
sea-trunk  of  yours  has  grown  restless.  Combs 
and  brushes  catch  the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  At 
length  you  'get  lying  down.'  But  you  '  feel  the 
motion,'  and  when  you  try  to  forget  it  those 
coats  and  garments  which  you  adjusted  so  nicely 
on  the  sides  of  your  room,  as  they  obey  the  law 
of  gravitation  and  swing  to  and  fro,  remind  you 
of  it,  until  you  wish  they  were  in  the  trunk,  and 
the  trunk  safely  anchored  somewhere.  Yes, 
there  are  little  inconveniences  to  the  average  pas- 
senger." 

Many  and  many  a  person  has  said  to  the  pres- 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  267 

ent  writer,  "We  heard  your  father  preach  on 
board  the  steamship  so  and  so."  Among  the 
steerage  passengers  he,  also,  usually  held  a  serv- 
ice, and  generally  discovered  before  the  voyage 
was  over  just  how  many  north  of  Ireland  Protes- 
tants were  on  the  ship's  list.  He  once  spent  al- 
most the  entire  summer  in  Germany,  and  al- 
though he  did  not  speak  the  language  he  picked 
up  many  vivid  impressions.  Some  he  recorded 
as  follows: 

"The  solidity  of  everything  of  German  con- 
struction is  an  obvious  characteristic.  Things  are 
made  to  stand.  There  are  no  '  shanties.'  The 
window  frames  and  doors  are  meant  for  genera- 
tions. The  keys  of  houses  and  rooms  are  made 
without  regard  to  the  cost  of  the  metal.  The 
streets  are  paved  with  enormous  stones,  and  ap- 
pear to  last.  So  it  is  with  the  common  highways 
in  many  places.  They  recall  the  old  Roman 
roads.  The  wagons  are  enormously  heavy,  and 
only  matched  by  the  weight  of  the  harness  on 
the  horses.  One  sees  collars  on  brewers'  dray- 
horses  which  seem  a  load  in  themselves,  and  on 
which  are  piled  heavy  brass  decorations  that  re- 
call the  armor  of  the  middle  ages.  No  wonder 
that  they  move  with  a  slow  gravity,  as  if  con- 
scious of  the  greatness  of  the  interests  they  rep- 


268  HOME  LIFE 

resent,  and  there  is  a  corresponding  feature  in  the 
minor  arrangements  of  Hfe. 

"Now  a  good  deal  of  this  is  unnecessary  and 
some  of  it  provokes  a  smile.  But  the  question  is 
— are  we  not  in  danger  of  erring  on  the  other 
side  ?  We  are  rapid,  inventive,  familiar  with 
change,  content  to  secure  the  present,  willing  to 
have  the  future  take  care  of  itself.  We  aim  at 
being  '  smart '  rather  than  solid.  Our  German 
fellow-citizens  may  help  us  to  the  happy  medium. " 

In  1883  a  sad  shadow  came  over  my  father's 
life.  He  greatly  rejoiced  in  the  success  and 
promise  of  my  cousin  John  Magowan,  who  had 
taken  his  last  year  at  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
and  who  had  most  successfully  begun  his  work 
at  the  Canal  Street  Presbyterian  Church.  In  a 
great  many  ways  the  presence  of  his  nephew  in 
the  city  and  in  the  presbytery  had  been  a  great 
source  of  gratification  to  him.  Then  the  splendid 
promise  of  wide  influence  for  good  was  cut  short 
by  sudden  illness;  and  a  life  that  had  been  filled 
with  sweetness  and  hope  ended  on  November 
26th,  in  the  early  dawn  of  the  Monday  morning. 
It  was  under  the  family  roof  that  the  illness  had 
its  fatal  termination,  and  the  dear  remains  rest  in 
Woodlawn,  and  the  spirit  is  with  God  who 
gave  it. 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  269 

The  shock  to  my  father  was  very  great,  and  he 
never  trusted  himself  to  speak  much  about  one 
to  whom  he  was  deeply  attached',  and  from 
whom  he  with  good  reason  expected  great 
things.  Side  by  side  they  now  await  the  resur- 
rection ! 

On  November  the  29th  of  189 1,  the  community 
was  startled  by  the  report  of  the  attempted  assas- 
sination of  my  father.     He  came  walking  rapidly 
from  the  church  and  alone  up  to  the  steps  of  the 
house,  when  an  insane  man,  John  G.  Roth,  to 
whom    he   had    given  some   trifling   help,    at- 
tempted his  life  with  a  revolver.     Three  shots 
were  fired,  but  although  fired  at  a   distance  of 
scarcely  ten   feet,  none  took  effect.     The  arrest 
of  the  man  followed,  and  it  was  found  that  he 
was  an  unfortunate  but  dangerous  lunatic.    After 
going  to  the  police  court  to  identify  his  assailant 
he  went  into  his  pulpit  to  preach  the  sermon  he 
had   prepared,  and  in   the  evening  preached  in 
Classon  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  Brooklyn. 
On  him  the  incident  seemed  to  have  left  little  im- 
pression, except  of  thankfulness  to  God  for  his 
escape,  and  certainly  his  wonderful  coolness  in 
quietly   opening  the    door  while  the   man  was 
firing  at  him  was  noteworthy  and  perhaps  saved 
his  life.     Hundreds  of  letters  and  telegrams  from 


270  HOME  LIFE 

all  over  the  country  and  from  Europe  brought  him 
congratulations  upon  his  wonderful  escape.  The 
unfortunate  man  was  at  once  placed  under  care, 
his  condition  being  that  of  dangerous  insanity. 

The  public  man  in  America  has  a  constant 
problem  to  solve  in  his  relations  to  the  daily 
press.  On  the  one  hand  no  sensible  man  fails  to 
see  the  great  influence  for  good  and  evil  yielded 
by  these  daily  publications;  yet  on  the  other  hand 
the  irresponsible  character  and  the  untrustworth- 
iness  in  general  and  in  detail  breeds  a  great  dis- 
trust of  that  influence.  This  distrust  was  deeply 
rooted  in  my  father.  On  the  whole  he  was 
always  well  treated  by  the  papers,  in  general  the 
daily  press  sought  to  say  pleasant  things  about 
him  and  his  work.  Yet  the  emphasis  placed 
upon  just  those  features  of  his  work  which  gave 
him  the  least  satisfaction  always  greatly  annoyed 
him.  Very  soon  after  beginning  work  in  New 
York  some  correspondent  described  him  as  out 
on  Harlem  Lane — at  that  time  the  meeting-place 
for  fast  trotters — behind  a  pair  of  fast  horses. 
Probably  the  correspondent  meant  no  harm,  or 
mistook  for  him  a  distant  relative  of  my  father's 
bearing  the  same  name,  and  being  a  medical  doc- 
tor bearing  also  the  same  title.  At  the  same  time 
the  report  was  promptly  "  paragraphed  "  all  over 


AND  SUMMER  TRAVELS  271 

the  country,  and  even  now  might  at  any  time 
turn  up  in  the  "  plates  "  of  some  country  paper. 
No  denials,  although  promptly  made,  and  no  cor- 
rections in  the  columns  of  the  Boston  paper,  al- 
though they  too  were  at  once  forthcoming,  made 
any  difference;  year  after  year  the  paragraph, 
"  Dr.  Hall  on  Harlem  Lane"  made  its  appearance 
as  regularly  as  the  roses  came  in  spring  or  the 
joke  about  the  plumber  adorns  the  winter  col- 
umns of  the  funny  paper. 

Another  report,  as  absurd,  about  the  enormous 
fortune  my  father  was  supposed  to  possess  still 
lives,  and  circulates  even  now  with  stately 
gravity  in  the  columns  of  papers  in  far  Russia  as 
well  as  in  Germany  and  France.  His  corre- 
spondence brought  him  begging  letters  from 
Egypt,  Japan,  China,  India,  Sweden,  Germany, 
Russia,  Spain,  and  indeed  all  European  lands. 
Generally  the  begging  letters  enclosed  a  clipping 
from  the  paper  of  the  country  giving  the  fig- 
ures on  which  the  correspondents  based  their 
hopes.  No  contradictions  availed  at  all.  Con- 
tradictions and  corrections  are  not  "para- 
graphed." As  a  matter  of  fact  such  were  the 
demands  upon  the  city  pastor  with  a  large  family 
and  of  necessity  living  in  a  certain  style,  that  al- 
though the  salary  was  large  and  the  house  free. 


272  HOME  LIFE 

and  the  living  very  simple — no  carriage  or  horses 
ever  being  maintained — no  money  was  ever  saved 
from  the  yearly  salary.  All  the  small  fortune 
that  was  left  the  widow  was  earned  with  the 
pen  or  was  the  result  of  a  kindly  legacy  left  by 
a  dear  and  devoted  friend.  The  home  life  was 
simple.  Of  formal  entertainment,  as  has  been 
said,  there  was  none.  At  lunch  and  dinner  there 
was  always  room  for  any  one  whom  my  father 
or  one  of  the  children  would  ask  to  stay  and  par- 
take of  the  meal  with  the  family.  And  of  such 
hospitality  there  was  abundance,  but  formal  en- 
tertainment was  made  simply  impossible  by  the 
busy  and  constantly  interrupted  life  into  which 
year  by  year  my  father  drifted.  Such  was  the 
home  life.  In  many  ways  it  was  too  public,  too 
incessantly  interrupted,  too  restlessly  engaged, 
to  be  an  ideal  home  life.  Yet  circumstances 
made  it  such,  and  that  was  one  of  the  many 
sacrifices  demanded  by  a  public  life  upon  which 
every  one  deemed  himself  as  having  a  claim. 


XI.     CONTROVERSY  AND  ATTEMPTED 
PEACEMAKING 


WRITING  ON  THE  SAND. 

Alone  I  walk'd  the  ocean  strand  — 
A  pearly  shell  was  in  my  hand ; 
I  stoop'd,  and  wrote  upon  the  sand 

My  name — the  year — the  day. 
As  onward  from  the  spot  I  pass'd 
One  lingering  look  behind  I  cast. 
A  wave  came  rolling  high  and  fast, 

And  wash'd  my  lines  away. 

And  so,  methought,  'twill  shortly  be 
With  every  mark  on  earth  from  me ; 
A  wave  of  dark  oblivion's  sea 

Will  sweep  across  the  place. 
Where  I  have  trod  the  sandy  shore 
Of  time,  there  will  remain  more, 
Of  me — my  name — the  name  I  bore, 

'Twill  leave  no  track — no  trace. 

And  yet,  with  Him  who  counts  the  sands. 
And  holds  the  water  in  His  hands, 
I  know  the  lasting  record  stands, 

Inscribed  against  my  name  ; 
Of  all  this  mortal  part  has  wrought, 
Of  all  this  thinking  soul  has  thought. 
And  from  these  fleeting  moments  caught. 

For  glory  or  for  shame. 

—  The  Missionary  Herald,  /SjS. 


274 


XI 

CONTROVERSY  AND  ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING 

POWERS  OF  CONTROVERSY.  I^EVISION.  MISUNDERSTAND- 
INGS. COUNSELS  REJECTED.  THE  CASE  OF  DR.  BRIGGS. 
UNION  SEMINARY.  ATTITUDE  70WARDS  EXTREMISTS. 
CONCEPTION  OF  FUNDAMENTALS. 

MANY  who  knew  my  father  well  have  ad- 
mired his  powers  of  debate  and  his  clear- 
ness in  statement  in  controversy.  He  did  not, 
however,  either  welcome  argument  or  like  de- 
bate. He  could  handle  a  sharp  sword  when  it 
was  necessary,  but  he  loved  peace,  and  generally 
avoided  a  struggle  if  he  could  do  so.  At  the 
same  time  he  now  and  then  was  pricked  into 
sharp  rejoinder  and  most  decided  action.  From 
Professor  Tyndal  he  exacted  at  one  time  an 
apology,  by  exposing  inaccuracies  in  public  state- 
ment in  a  sharp  and  almost  scathing  manner.  In 
his  Dublin  controversy  he  most  firmly  maintained 
his  ground  against  some  of  the  ablest  debaters  of 
their  generation.  When  in  1889  the  question 
came  up  before  the  New  York  Presbytery  on  the 
initiative  of  the  General  Assembly  as  to  the  ad- 
visability of  a  revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith, 
275 


276  CONTROVERSY  AND 

all  the  instincts  of  a  lifetime  of  service  based 
upon  the  platform  of  evangelical  Calvinism 
prompted  to  immediate  defense  of  that  which 
was  assailed.  He  dreaded,  in  common  with 
many  other  conservative  friends,  the  revision  ex- 
tending to  things  he  considered  really  valuable. 
For  him  God's  grace  was  bound  up  with  the 
doctrine  of  man's  utter  helplessness.  He  had  no 
intellectual  difficulty  himself  with  the  doctrines 
of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  a  most  sincere 
admiration  for  the  Shorter  Catechism :  he,  more- 
over, deeply  and  heartily  distrusted  what  Mr. 
Spurgeon  called  the  "down-grade  theology." 
In  the  whole  revision  movement  he  rightly  saw 
the  intellectual  unrest,  which  he  regarded  as 
dangerous.  He  had  been  taught  to  regard  the 
evangelical  awakening  in  Ireland  as  a  result  of 
the  reassertion  of  the  Calvinistic  system  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  and  to  attach  exceedingly 
great  importance  to  the  subscription  which  had 
been  enforced  in  Ireland  in  1840.  There  may  be 
other  opinions  on  such  questions,  but  the  fact 
here  to  be  emphasized  is  that  the  course  of  con- 
duct pursued  in  the  debate  was  throughout  con- 
sistent with  these  positions.  He  was  not  present 
when  revision  was  overwhelmingly  decided 
upon  in  the  meeting  of  November,   1889.     The 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING     277 

daily  press  announced,  of  course,  that  "Calvin- 
ism must  now  go,"  etc.,  and  this  stirred  up  my 
father  to  point  out  that  the  committee  was  not 
appointed  to  "alter  the  system  of  doctrine,"  and 
he  in  general  defended  both  the  committee  and  the 
presbytery.  This  defense  of  the  presbytery  gave 
rise  to  the  report  that  my  father  also  favored 
revision.  No  one,  who  really  knew  his  method 
of  thought  and  was  familiar  with  his  early  train- 
ing and  opinions  could  have  made  any  such  mis- 
take. He  had  no  objection  to  explanations  of 
the  language  of  the  Confession  to  make  it  con- 
form to  the  evangelical  proclamation,  as  he 
understood  it  and  preached  it,  but  he  devoutly 
believed  that  the  Confession  of  Faith  stood  for 
that  proclamation.  He  saw  in  it  only  what  he 
thought  he  found  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Ro- 
mans. 

When  then  he  joined  the  debate,  and  took  issue 
with  the  committee  appointed  by  the  presbytery 
to  formulate  the  changes  desired,  he  not  only 
was  not  inconsistent,  but  did  what  any  one  really 
knowing  his  views  might  have  foreseen  he  would 
do.  He  was,  however,  charged  with  inconsist- 
ency and  defended  himself  in  the  following 
statement: 

"The  presbytery — when  I  was  not  present, — 


278  CONTROVERSY  AND 

discussed  the  question  of  'revision'  in  a  style 
so  revolutionary  that  the  papers  gave  out,  in 
various  forms,  the  idea  that — as  they  put  it — '  Cal- 
vinism must  go.' 

"A  committee  was  appointed  to  frame  reso- 
lutions and  indicate  the  extent  of  '  revision '  de- 
sired. It  began  with  strong  protestations  that  the 
system  of  doctrine  must  not  be  touched,  and 
then  indicated  the  points  to  be  amended.  A 
time  was  fixed  for  discussion,  which  was  not 
then  entered  upon. 

"  I  remarked  that  1  hoped  the  '  world-enlighten- 
ing editors  '  would  give  as  much  prominence  to 
this  paper  as  they  had  done  to  the  other  state- 
ments. 1  referred  to  the  preservation  of  the 
doctrine;  1  had  no  reference  to  the  details. 

"In  consequence  of  this  statement,  some  of 
the  revisers — ignoring  the  facts  contemplated  in 
my  words,  misapprehended  them,  and  charged 
me  with  change  of  attitude,  when  opposing  the 
proposed  changes.  When  discussion  came  I 
pointed  out  that  in  the  dropping  of  chapter  iii 
the  Committee  took  exactly  the  ground  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians,  and  that  if  the  As- 
sembly accepted  this  change  we  must  apologize 
to  them,  and  ask  them  to  join  with  us. 

"Other  reasons  were  stated,  into  which  I  need 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING     279 

not  go:  but  all  the  counter-arguments  made,  and 
since  written,  only  deepen  the  conviction  that  too 
many  of  the  friends  of  revision  are  hot  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  '  system  of  doctrine,'  and  that — 
while  an  explanatory  statement  might  avert  some 
incidental  evil — revision  as  favored,  would  do 
more  harm  than  good. 

"  The  plea  was  made  that  our  Calvinistic  state- 
ments kept  good  young  men  from  the  ministry. 
With  exclusive  regard  to  this  statement  I  called 
attention  to  the  authorized  statistics  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  ministry  showing  that  the 
want  of  ministers  is  a  real  evil,  with  them  not- 
withstanding the  elimination  of  the  matter 
thought  to  be  undesirable,  from  the  confession." 

This  allusion  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
called  forth  from  some  of  them  who  misunder- 
stood his  position,  sharp  criticism.  This  was  the 
more  inexcusable  as  he  had  fought  their  battle  in 
the  "  Pan  Presbyterian  Alliance  "  when  he  urged 
that  they  should  be  included  as  belonging  to 
historic  Presbyterianism,  not  on  the  basis  of  de- 
tails of  doctrine,  but  on  the  basis  of  broad 
principles  and  history. 

To  this  criticism  he  replied  in  the  same  state- 
ment already  quoted: 

"And  now  the  dear  Cumberland  brethren  are 


28o  CONTROVERSY  AND 

lecturing  me  for  an  attack  on  them,  when  the 
only  thing  done  was  to  notice  their  condition,  as 
publicly  described,^  as  an  answer  to  the  intima- 
tion that  we  would  get  more  candidates  if  we 
had  not  the  pointed  Calvinism.  My  opposition 
to  the  proposed  removal  of  chapter  iii — which  is 
the  main  point — is  that  to  alter  it,  as  proposed, 
would  require  other  alterations  to  preserve  the 
consistency  of  the  whole,  and  the  truths  assailed 
are  as  pointedly  asserted  in  Scripture  as  in  our 
Confession,  and  were  needed  then,  and  are 
needed  now,  as  protests  against  errors  more  or 
less  congenial  to  human  pride  and  self-sufficiency. 

"Our  friends  sometimes  fail  to  look  at  a  state- 
ment in  the  light  of  the  circumstances  calling  it 
forth,  and  the  uses  it  was  meant  to  serve.  Is 
there  not  a  like  tendency  in  relation  to  statements 
of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  the  inspired  wri- 
tings themselves  ?  " 

At  the  meeting  held  early  in  1890,  to  decide 
how  far  revision  should  go  my  father  took  very 

•The  "public  description"  was  from  the  St.  Louis  Ob- 
server as  follows : 

"Out  of  2,689  churches,  only  215  have  service  every  Sab- 
bath, and  564  have  no  regular  preaching.  Out  of  1,595  min- 
isters. 720  give  all  their  time  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 
Not  the  one-half  of  either  churches  or  preachers  do  anything 
in  the  work  of  missions." 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING     281 

strong  ground  against  what  he  considered  radical 
changes  in  the  Confession  of  Faith  as  it  stood. 
Even  those  who  disagreed  entirely  with  him  bear 
testimony  to  the  adroitness  and  force  of  his  argu- 
ment against  the  changes  proposed.  Some  of 
those  arguments  are  valid  yet,  as  he  tried  to  show 
that  simply  eliminating  a  chapter  without  other 
and  more  radical  changes  would  not  improve 
conditions,  and  would  spoil  the  Confessional 
statement. 

The  movement  for  revision  was  however,  so 
strong  that  he  felt  something  might  be  said  to 
correct  wrong  impressions.  Hence  he  proposed 
the  following  resolutions,  in  answer  to  the  As- 
sembly's question: 

Resolved,  i.  That,  endorsing  the  committee's 
adherence  to  the  system  of  doctrine  contained  in 
our  standards,  we  decline  to  approve  the  pro- 
posed changes  to  chapter  iii  of  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  for  these,  among  other  reasons:  that  the 
removal  of  all  the  sections  but  the  first  would 
imply  obligation  to  modify  many  other  facts  of 
our  standards,  and  would  be  generally  regarded 
as  the  first  and  decisive  step  in  the  way  of  other 
and  vital  changes. 

2.  In  view  of  the  misinterpretations,  to  which, 
it  is  believed  by  some  of  the  brethren,  sections 


282  CONTROVERSY  AND 

3  and  4  and  8  of  chapter  iii  are  liable,  it  be  sub- 
mitted, to  the  Assembly  if  it  seems  to  be  need- 
ful, to  formulate  a  statement  as  an  explanatory 
or  declaratory  note  disclaiming  any  views,  beliefs 
or  intentions  in  the  direction  of  these  misinterpre- 
tations. 

3.  That  in  regard  to  the  question  of  infant 
salvation  the  General  Assembly  be  asked — if  it 
judge  it  right, — to  formulate  a  similar  brief  state- 
ment, to  the  effect  that  our  hope  of  the  salvation 
of  infants  is  based  not — as  some  rest  it,  on  their 
sinlessness,  nor,  as  others  believe,  on  the  virtue 
of  baptism,  but  on  the  grace  of  God  through 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 

These  resolutions,  like  the  negative  motion  of 
Dr.  Shedd,  were  rejected,  and  when  in  the  spring 
a  solid  delegation  pledged  to  revision,  from 
which  a  large  vote  excluded  my  father,  he  felt 
that  his  responsibility  for  the  time  had  ceased. 

In  the  meantime  the  attack  upon  the  inaugural 
address  of  Dr.  Charles  A.  Briggs,  professor  at 
Union  Seminary  had  been  made,  and  the  Assem- 
bly had  vetoed  his  transfer  from  one  chair  to  an- 
other. The  legal  aspects  of  the  powers  of  the 
Assembly  gave  rise  at  once  to  questions.  At  a 
meeting  in  June,  1891,  of  the  directors  of  the 
seminary  my  father  took  the  ground  that  if  the 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING     283 

relations  existing  between  the  seminary  and  the 
Assembly  were  broken,  he  would  have  to  resign. 
He  came  on  the  board,  he  thought,  after  consul- 
tation with  Dr.  Adams  to  represent  the  Old 
School  sentiment  in  its  new  relation  to  the  work 
of  the  now  United  Church. 

If  the  seminary,  he  argued,  ceased  to  be  the 
work  of  the  United  Church  he  had  no  place  in  its 
counsels.  In  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Tribune 
of  June  i2th,  1891,  he  put  plainly  his  view  of  the 
case,  and  feeling  as  he  did,  and  the  action  of  the 
directors,  taken  equally  conscientiously  having 
broken  the  relation,  he  resigned  from  the  Board 
of  Directors.     His  letter  was  as  follows: 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Tribune. 

Sir  : — In  a  report  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  furnished  I  know  not  by 
whom — we  had  no  reporters  present — occurs  the  following 
sentence :  "  It  was  noticed,  however,  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Hall  retired  from  the  meeting  on  the  plea  of  important  engage- 
ments elsewhere  before  a  vote  was  reached." 

This  is  the  only  reference  to  myself,  and  is  so  liable  to  a  cer- 
tain misunderstanding  that  I  feel  bound  to  state  the  facts. 

I  was  at  the  meeting  from  its  beginning  at  three  o'clock  un- 
til a  quarter  past  five,  when  I  had  to  leave,  as  I  was  under  a 
promise  to  lecture  to  a  Presbyterian  church  at  White  Plains — a 
"  labor  of  love,"  at  the  request  of  its  acting  pastor,  and  my 
valued  friend. 

Up  to  the  hour  of  five  o'clock,  the  point  urged  by  several 
members  (I  do  not  give  names,  because  I  have  only  one  object 
in  mind),  was  that  the  seminary,  in  the  arrangement  made  with 


284  CONTROVERSY  AND 

the  General  Assembly  twenty-one  years  ago,  did  what  was  ruled 
against  in  its  charter,  what  was  illegal,  and  what,  in  law,  for- 
feited its  rights  to  its  property,  and  that,  therefore,  the  Assembly 
had  no  power,  and  could  have  none,  to  veto  an  appointment  of 
a  professor.  This  plea  was  supported  by  high  legal  authority, 
and  evidence  was  given  that  some  of  the  directors  apprehended 
all  this,  when  the  late  Dr.  Adams  framed  the  overture  made  to 
the  General  Assembly,  the  acceptance  of  which  placed  Union 
Seminary  in  a  new  relation  to  the  Assembly. 

To  all  this,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  had  nothing  to  say.  Legal 
technicality  is  sometimes  one  thing,  and  equity  quite  another. 
The  question  before  the  board  respected  our  duty  to  the  Assem- 
bly under  whose  "care  "  we  had  placed  the  institution.  (See 
minutes  of  Assembly  for  1870,  pp.  17,  148.)  I  felt  bound  lo 
say  that  our  immediate  duty  is  to  go  to  the  Assembly  and  say 
in  plain  language  :  "  We  erred  when  we  placed  the  institution 
under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly,  for  we  were  precluded 
by  our  charter  from  doing  so.  We  misled  you,  unintentionally 
of  course,  and  gave  you  powers  which  we  had  no  right  to  give. 
For  twenty-one  years  we  have  been  under  your  care,  under  a 
misapprehension,  for  which  we,  the  directors,  are  responsible, 
and  are  deeply  sorry."  So  clear  did  this  obligation  seem  to 
the  exponent  of  the  defense,  that  he  framed  a  sentence  and  of- 
fered to  put  it  in  his  paper,  embodying  the  acknowledgment. 
On  this  paper,  though  its  adoption  was  moved  and  seconded, 
no  vote  was  taken. 

I  added  that  the  natural  outcome,  from  the  facts  stated,  must 
be  the  separation  of  the  Union  Seminary  from  the  Assembly, 
after  a  relation  established,  on  our  own  motion,  for  twenty-one 
years,  and  which  made  the  Assembly  responsible  for  our  work, 
before  the  churches;  and  that  then  it  would  become  a  question 
to  some  of  us  whether  we  could,  in  the  circumstances,  remain 
members  of  the  board.  We  invited  the  Assembly  to  take  us 
under  its  care.  It  accepted  the  responsibility,  and  it  acts  un- 
der a  sense  of  it.  We  now  say  to  it,  "  Hands  off!  We  had  no 
right  to  put  ourselves  under  your  care,  as  you,  and  we,  and  the 
world  understood  it,  for  these  one  and  twenty  years." 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING     285 

I  mention  these  things  "  to  correct  the  impression  that  the 
report  in  the  Tribune  would  suggest,  namely,  that  I  had  no 
opinion  on  the  matter,  or  that  I  did  not  desire  to  be  committed 
to  any  side."  My  conviction  I  stated  in  the  plainest  way  that 
I  could,  urging  the  obligations  on  us  as  men,  as  Christian  men, 
as  a  public  Christian  body,  whose  proceedings  now  interest  so 
much  the  community. 

I  have  ventured  to  put  m  quotation  marks  the  point  which  I 
hope  will  be  "  noted."  I  have  rarely  to  explain  my  position, 
or  defend  myself,  but  as  I  am  to  be  out  of  the  country  for  some 
little  time,  I  wish  to  save  critics — higher  or  lower — trouble  in 
speculating  upon  my  motives.         Yours  most  truly, 

J.  Hall. 

New  York,  June  12,  i8gi. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  in  No- 
vember, 1892,  the  resignation  was  accepted  with 
expressions  of  "high  appreciation  of  the  service 
you  have  rendered  to  the  seminary  during  the 
long  period  of  your  directorship,  and  their  sincere 
regret  that  the  pleasurable  associations  of  so 
many  years  should  for  any  reason  be  termi- 
nated." 

This  action,  as  my  father  often  said,  was  quite 
independent  of  any  action  the  General  Assembly 
might  take  in  the  coming  trial  for  heresy  of  Dr. 
Briggs.  He,  of  course,  disapproved  of  the  in- 
augural address.  From  his  standpoint  he  could 
not  be  of  one  mind  with  what  seemed  to  him  a 
dangerous  position.  For  higher  criticism,  as  he 
understood  it,  he  had  no  patience,  believing  that 


286  CONTROVERSY  AND 

all  difficulties  would  ultimately  yield  to  research. 
He  was  quite  outspoken  from  the  beginning  of 
the  controversy  to  the  end  of  it  on  his  own  views 
of  modern  theological  thought  and  the  critical 
views  of  the  origin  of  sacred  scriptures.  Like 
Dr.  McCosh  he  thought  Dr.  Briggs  wrong  in 
many  of  his  critical  positions,  and  in  public  and 
private  always  honestly  expressed  those  views. 

At  the  same  time  he  did  not  hope  much  from 
a  trial  for  heresy,  and  exerted  himself  to  the  ut- 
most to  avoid  that  conclusion.  This  gave  deadly 
offense  to  some  of  those  most  interested,  to 
whom  the  trial  for  heresy  was  a  mere  means  for 
warding  off  revision,  and  the  maintaining  the 
supremacy  of  a  certain  type  of  thought  in  the 
church.  This  was  what  made  my  father's  po- 
sition difficult  in  the  extreme.  He  agreed  heartily 
in  the  desire  to  guard  against  any  radical  revision, 
he  did  not  and  could  not  enthusiastically  share  in 
the  heresy  trial  as  a  means  to  that  end. 

He  had  himself  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Briggs  was 
technically  outside  the  confessional  limits,  but  he 
had  no  desire  to  really  exclude  him,  if  only  he 
was  satisfied  that  in  the  main  evangelical  essentials 
he  was  in  harmony  with  the  mass  of  believers. 
Many  thought  that  had  my  father  gone  to  the 
Assembly  in  1891  instead  of  sending  his  alternate 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING     287 

he  might  have  avoided  the  subsequent  trouble. 
But  in  the  first  place  his  election  was  an  entire 
surprise  to  him,  and  he  had  made  arrangements 
he  could  not  with  honor  break;  and  in  the  second 
place  notice  had  been  served  upon  him  by  his 
natural  friends  and  allies  on  the  conservative  side 
that  they  would  tolerate  no  mediation.  He  felt, 
and  in  view  of  past  events,  he  undoubtedly 
rightly  felt,  that  he  could  not  carry  the  Assembly 
for  the  only  policy  he  thought  just  and  sensible, 
and  that  by  the  action  of  the  previous  year  he 
had  been  relieved  of  responsibility  in  the  matter. 
Never  had  my  father  the  least  doubt  as  to  the 
main  issue  of  the  inerrancy  of  Holy  Scripture  in 
all  the  essentials  of  its  history,  nor  did  he  attach 
importance  to  the  difficulties  raised  by  mod- 
ern criticism.  In  large  measure,  in  fact,  they  lay 
beyond  the  sphere  of  his  particular  interest.  Yet 
while  for  himself  this  was  true,  and  he  would 
have  personally  assented  to  any  definition  of  in- 
spiration however  rigorous  on  these  points,  he 
nevertheless  came  into  contact  with  men  of  whose 
Christian  experience  and  whose  reverent  scholar- 
ship he  had  no  doubts  whatsoever,  who  could  not 
accept  theories  that  seemed  to  him  rational  and 
even  obvious.  The  attitude  of  Scotch  scholar- 
ship had  in  this  matter  the  greatest  weight  with 


288  CONTROVERSY  AND 

him.'  Naturally  traditions  led  him  to  look  rather 
to  Scotland  than  to  either  America  or  Germany 
for  the  intellectual  stimulus  every  thinking  man 
needs.  And  in  Scotland  he  saw  theologian  after 
theologian  pass  from  the  extreme  position  to  the 
looser,  as  he  counted  it,  definition  of  inspiration. 
Moreover  the  traditions  of  the  struggle  for  ortho- 
doxy in  Ireland  excluded  heresy-trials.  Dr.  Cooke 
had  resolutely  refused  to  commit  the  Synod  to 
this  step.  "Guard,"  he  advised,  "the  entrance  to 
the  church,  but  suffer  all  those  now  within  to  re- 

1  It  may  be  permitted  here  for  the  present  writer  to  add  a 
personal  word.  It  was  not  unnaturally  argued  that  the  position 
taken  by  the  writer  affected  my  father's  conduct  in  this  strug- 
gle. This  was  not  the  case.  From  the  outset  there  was  a  full 
understanding  between  father  and  son ;  and  although  un- 
doubtedly it  was  painful  that  convictions  differed,  in  letter  after 
letter  assurances  were  given  of  the  utmost  confidence  in  the 
sincerity  of  those  convictions,  and  unfaithfulness  to  them 
would  have  given  my  father  deepest  pain.  When  the  time  to 
speak  out  seemed  to  the  writer  to  have  come,  an  opening  in 
another  sister  church  offered  itself.  This  seemed  a  ready  so- 
lution of  the  difficulty,  but  my  father  resolutely  refused  to  have 
that  step  taken,  and  urged  retention  of  my  connection  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  only  enjoining  gentleness  and  moderation 
in  the  maintaining  of  my  convictions.  The  slightest  hint  from 
my  father  that  he  doubted  my  rights  within  the  lines  of  the 
Presbyterial  communion,  or  the  least  indication  that  he  re- 
garded it  as  a  hindrance  to  his  own  free  action  would  at  any 
stage  of  the  controversy  been  sufficient  to  have  led  me  quietly 
to  withdraw.  All  such  steps  my  father  steadily  and  continu- 
ously opposed. 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING      289 

main  in  peace."  The  extreme  "  Arian"  party,  as 
it  was  called  withdrew  to  a  remonstrant  Synod, 
but  the  clerk  of  the  Assembly,  after  publicly 
avowing  his  Unitarian  position,  was  not  even  dis- 
turbed in  his  holding  the  clerkship. 

Moreover  the  methods  of  the  extreme  party 
were  distasteful  to  him.  He  felt  somewhat  as 
Dr.  McCosh  is  said  to  have  done,  that  Dr.  Briggs 
should  be  answered  and  refuted,  but  that  a 
heresy-trial  was  no  answer.  There  was  no  at- 
tempt to  "shirk"  issues,  as  one  of  the  extreme 
party  charged  him  with  doing.  He  separated 
himself  at  once  from  Union  Seminary  when  he 
considered  his  own  position  compromised,  he 
vigorously  opposed  revision  of  the  standards,  and 
his  rejected  resolution  would  have  been  agreeable 
to  Dr.  Shedd  or  any  of  the  really  responsible  con- 
servatives, he  attempted  to  avoid  a  heresy-trial 
and  stood  manfully  for  peace,  and  although 
never  wavering  in  his  own  personal  convictions, 
he  was  willing  to  put  up  with  "weaker  breth- 
ren" if  only  Christ  was  preached.  The  so-called 
"liberal"  men  knew  and  respected  his  position, 
the  taunts  and  insults  came  from  a  few  whose 
intemperate  words  and  actions  could  not  shake 
my  father's  faith  in  the  conservative  position,  but 
in  whose  methods  he  could  have  little  part  and 


290  CONTROVERSY  AND 

in  whose  aims  he  did  not  always  have  con- 
fidence. 

In  this  spirit  he  also  refused  to  have  the  Home 
Board  made  a  partisan  agency  by  which  the 
church  could  be  "  purged,"  as  one  correspondent 
urged  upon  him,  from  those  who  refused  the 
shibboleths  of  the  extreme  faction.  Instinctively 
he  felt  that  Protestantism  rested  upon  the  har- 
mony of  reason  and  faith,  and  his  confidence  was 
firm  that  the  matter  had  only  to  be  discussed 
rightly,  and  that  faith  would  gain  the  victory. 
As  one,  a  member  of  his  session,  and  himself  an 
outspoken  partisan  wrote  to  him:  "I  have  no- 
ticed the  impertinent  reference  to  your  private 
affairs  in  the  Tribune  and  your  answer  to  it.  I 
wish  to  say  that  your  course  in  keeping  free 
from  the  strife  and  contentions,  clamors  and  evil 
speakings  on  both  sides  in  the  Briggs  contro- 
versy, I  consider  eminently  wise  and  proper. 
You  are  not  called  upon  to  be  a  partisan  on 
either  side  if  you  prefer  peace  and  brotherly 
kindness;  and  I  am  sure  your  consistent  course 
will  approve  itself  to  all  your  people,  and  to  all 
considerate  men." 

He,  moreover  never  avoided  any  opportunity 
of  expressing  himself,  publicly  and  privately,  as 
his  correspondence  and  printed  documents  show. 


ATTEMPTED  PEACEMAKING      291 

on  the  issues  of  the  case.  In  the  heat  and  strife 
however  his  counsels  of  patience  and  rnoderation 
were  unheeded,  perhaps  a  calmer  review  than  is 
now  possible  of  the  whole  history  will  establish 
the  wisdom  of  his  course.  To  have,  however, 
acted  otherwise  than  he  did  would  have  been  a 
complete  departure  from  the  traditions  of  a  life- 
time, and  a  change  in  the  entire  habit  of  his  mind 
and  heart.  It  was  therefore  to  him  that  younger 
men  all  over  the  country  wrote  asking  advice 
after  the  condemnation  of  Dr.  Briggs  at  Wash- 
ington as  to  what  they  should  do  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  to  them  the  answer  was  uni- 
formly "stay  where  God  has  put  you,  if  you  can 
honestly  preach  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  and  work  in  harmony  with  your  brethren 
in  the  Lord."  He  felt  deeply  sorry  that  so  many 
had  accepted,  what  seemed  to  him,  a  fallacious 
and  imperfect  conception  of  inspiration,  and  that 
so  wide-spread  a  falling  off  from  traditional 
opinion  was  manifest;  he  thought  greater  care 
should  be  exercised  by  presbyteries  in  the  admit- 
ting of  men  to  the  ministry;  but  he  saw  no 
remedy  in  heresy-trials,  and  did  confidantly  be- 
lieve that  truth  would  assert  herself  in  her  own 
way. 
His   course  was   watched    and    approved    by 


292  CONTROVERSY 

thoughtful  friends  both  conservative  and  ad- 
vanced on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  he 
felt  after  the  first  heats  of  the  controversy  were 
over  that  calm  discussion  and  "more  scholar- 
ship" would  relieve  the  situation.  What  he  re- 
garded as  essential  he  once  formulated  in  a  paper 
on  church  unity.     He  wrote: 

"If  1  were  asked,  what  is  most  promotive  of 
true  church  unity,  I  could  make  but  one  reply. 
Let  there  be  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  the 
inspired  word.  Let  the  Saviour  be  held  up  as 
prophet,  priest  and  king,  through  whom  alone 
access  is  had  to  the  Father;  as  He  is  the  Chief 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls  let  His  authority 
be  supreme  in  the  Church.  Let  an  educated  and 
earnest  body  of  men  use  the  word,  sacraments 
and  prayer,  as  indicated  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  in  reliance — not  on  human  attractions,  social 
influences,  or  the  energy  of  human  flesh,  but  on 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  believers 
realizing  the  one  Lord,  the  one  faith,  and  the  one 
baptism,  and  so  the  one  relation,  will  be  seen  as 
one  by  their  Father  in  heaven,  and  so  recognized 
by  their  fellow-men." 


Xll.     SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 


HE  ABIDETH  FAITHFUL 

Friends  I  love  may  die  or  leave  me, 
Friends  I  trust  may  treacherous  prove, 

But  Thou  never  vi^ilt  deceive  me, 
O  my  Saviour !  in  Thy  love. 

Change  can  ne'er  this  union  sever, 

Death  its  links  may  never  part, 
Yesterday,  to-day,  forever 

Thou  the  same  Redeemer  art. 

On  Thy  cross  love  made  Thee  bearer 

Of  transgressions  not  Thine  own, 
And  that  love  still  makes  Thee  sharer 

In  our  sorrows  on  the  throne. 

In  the  days  of  worldly  gladness, 

Cold  and  proud  our  hearts  may  be ; 
But  to  whom,  in  fear  and  sadness. 

Can  we  go  but  unto  Thee  ? 

From  that  depth  of  gloom  and  sorrow, 
Where  Thy  love  to  man  was  shown. 

Every  bleeding  heart  may  borrow 
Hope  and  strength  to  bear  its  own. 

— The  Missionary  Herald,  i8j8. 


294 


XII 

SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

DEGREES  ^ND  HONORS.  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  FELLOW^- 
SHIP.  CHURCH  UNITY.  FAMILY  SORROWS.  THEWARSAWIAK 
CASE.  THE  DEMANDED  l^ESIGNATION.  THE  CONGREGA- 
TIONAL PRO  TES  T.     THE  CH  URCH  REORGANIZED. 

NO  man  ever  sought  recognition  less  than  the 
subject  of  this  biography.  He  was  by  na- 
ture both  reserved  and  shy.  The  calm  self-pos- 
session that  marked  him  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the 
platform  sprang  from  his  habit  of  constant  self- 
control  and  from  his  profound  sense  that  he  had 
a  message  which  was  not  simply  his  own. 

It  was  hard  to  persuade  him  in  his  student  days 
that  he  was  the  right  one  to  go  as  representing 
his  class  to  Connaught.  A  proud  shyness  marked 
him  as  a  student,  and  is  noticed  both  in  his  cor- 
respondence and  his  diary  of  those  days.  The 
prominence  he  attained  to  in  Ireland  was  thrust 
upon  him.  He  took  the  first  outside  honor  that 
was  offered  him — the  Queen's  commissionership 
of  education  in  Ireland — because  it  gave  him  a 
field  of  congenial  usefulness,  and  because  it  rep- 
resented a  principle,  and  not  for  the  honor  it 
295 


296       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

brought  with  it.  While  highly  self-respecting 
and  free  from  artificial  humility,  he  genuinely 
shrank  from  publicity  and  all  mere  notoriety. 

His  old  and  warmly  attached  friend — Mr. 
George  H.  Stuart — always  a  little  amused  and 
amazed  him  by  an  utter  freedom  in  public,  and 
by  the  way  he  enjoyed  crowds,  enthusiasm,  noise 
and  demonstration.  These  were  not  congenial 
to  my  father.  He  loved  order,  and  his  tastes 
were  sober  and  quiet.  His  reserve  made  his 
intimate  friendships  very  few,  yet  he  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  fellowship  of  his  brethren.  He  was 
warmly  interested  in  the  rather  distinguished 
group  of  men  with  whom  he  worked  in  Dublin, 
and  who  one  by  one  made  marks  in  life  for  them- 
selves in  various  directions.  He  kept  alive  the 
memories  of  the  little  circle  of  student  days, 
already  mentioned.  When  he  came  to  New 
York  he  was  at  once  welcomed  into  a  well- 
known  ministerial  circle,  whose  associations  he 
treasured  until  his  death.  Another  gathering  al- 
ways deeply  interested  him,  namely  the  minis- 
terial meeting  on  Mondays.  He  never  missed  it 
unless  hindered  by  important  duties  or  some  cir- 
cumstance he  could  not  control. 

One  of  the  keen  pleasures  of  his  life  was  the 
recurring    conventions    of    the    Scotch-Irish    in 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS        297 

America.  He  looked  forward  with  what  was  for 
him  eager  pleasure  to  these  gatherings..  He  gen- 
erally shared  this  pleasure  with  Mr.  Robert  Bon- 
ner who  took  an  active  interest  in  the  life  of  the 
society.  It  was  my  father's  lot  to  often  preach 
before  the  convention,  and  nowhere  did  he  ever 
feel  more  completely  in  touch  with  his  audience 
than  when  taking  part  in  the  "old-time  meeting " 
which  formed  a  part  of  the  convention's  exer- 
cises. The  first  degree  was  received  by  my 
father  while  still  in  Ireland  from  the  University 
of  Washington  and  Jefferson,  1865,  and  after  he 
came  to  America  various  degrees  were  given 
him.  In  1886,  Columbia  University  bestowed  on 
him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  but  he  especially  ac- 
cepted with  satisfaction  the  degree  of  LL.  D. 
from  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  which  was  given 
in  1891,  but  received  personally  by  him  in  Dublin 
in  1893.  Trinity  College  being  wholly  under  the 
control  of  the  Episcopal  church  has  not  often 
thus  honored  Irish  Presbyterians.  A  notable  ex- 
ception was  the  case  of  Dr.  Henry  Cooke,  who 
however  defended  the  establishment,  whereas 
my  father  was  known  to  be  an  open  antagonist 
of  that  policy.  The  degree  was  conferred  in 
"recognition  of  your  distinguished  merits,"  and 
was  understood  to  be  a  special  recognition  not 


298        SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

only  of  the  successful  career  in  New  York,  but 
of  past  services  in  connection  with  Irish  affairs. 
The  conferring  of  this  degree  not  only  greatly 
gratified  my  father,  but  he  spent  a  most  delight- 
ful few  days  in  Dublin  among  his  old  co-work- 
ers, on  the  Board  of  Education,  Presbyterian, 
Episcopalian  and  Roman  Catholic. 

It  was  part  of  the  joy  of  his  service  in  New 
York  that  he  could  be  of  use  to  many  branches 
of  the  Church  of  Christ.  Probably  no  voice  has 
been  so  much  heard  in  so  many  different  denom- 
inations as  that  of  my  father.  On  Sabbath  even- 
ings he  generally  preached  or  spoke  somewhere 
out  of  his  own  church.  He  delighted  to  be  of 
use  to  churches  and  brethren  less  favored  by  cir- 
cumstances than  he  and  his  charge  were. 

In  the  year  1875  he  delivered  the  Yale  lectures, 
already  mentioned,  and  from  that  on  almost  every 
year  he  spoke  to  the  various  classes  of  the  Yale 
Theological  Seminary.  Close  and  warm  friend- 
ships sprang  up  in  the  Congregational  Church 
as  a  result  of  these  visits  and  he  took  a  deep  in- 
terest in  many  of  the  men  whom  he  came  to 
know  in  the  theological  classes  he  thus  ad- 
dressed. 

The  year  1896  is  marked  in  his  diary  as  a  year 
of  special  blessing  and  peace.     The  health  of  his 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS        299 

wife  and  a  son  about  whom  he  had  had  anxiety 
had  so  much  improved  that  he  had  practically  no 
concern  in  this  regard.  The  work  of  the  church 
seemed  to  be  going  on  with  every  evidence  of 
prosperity  and  peace.  In  the  summer  of  that 
year  he  went  as  a  delegate  to  the  Evangelical 
Alliance,  which  met  in  London  from  June  30th 
to  July  4th,  In  the  Alliance  he  had  always  taken 
a  deep  interest.  It  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  only 
practical  Christian  unity  possible,  at  present,  ob- 
tainable. He  rejoiced  always  in  its  activity  and 
more  than  once  stood  up  to  defend  it  against 
those  who  saw  in  it  nothing  but  a  sentiment. 
He  felt  that  denomination  differences  had  a 
meaning,  but  that  there  was  a  spirit  deeper  and 
more  unifying  than  the  external  bond.  He  once 
wrote: 

' '  Like  many  other  words  and  phrases  in  common 
use,  'Church  unity'  needs  to  be  defined.  In 
the  minds  of  some  it  means:  'Let  the  denomina- 
tions or  sects  come  and  join  us,  just  as  we  are; 
and  so  let  us  have  unity.'  With  others  it 
means:  'Let  us  work  together,  not  against  one 
another  but  against  ignorance,  worldliness  and 
vice.'  This  is  the  idea  represented  in  the 
Evangelical  Alliance,  and  the  idea  which  has  my 
sympathy.     As  an  illustration  of  its  working  I 


300       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

can  exchange  pulpits  with  Baptist,  Congre- 
gational, Methodist,  and  other  brethren,  and 
show  that  while  we  have  our  several  forms  of 
machinery  and  distinctive  features  in  our  Church- 
life,  yet  we  have  the  same  message  in  substance  to 
deliver  to  the  people.  It  is  desirable  that  this 
form  of  unity  should  be  realized  more  and  more, 
so  that  economy  might  be  practiced,  and  if  a 
modest  village  has  a  couple  of  congregations 
equal  to  the  wants  of  the  place  other  two  might 
not  press  in  and  at  the  cost  of  Missionary  Boards 
push  competitive  effort." 

That  autumn's  work  showed  an  extraordinary 
amount  of  activity.  Before  Christmas  the  visit- 
ing was  well  in  hand,  and  the  year  closed 
in  the  journal  with  a  characteristic  prayer  of 
thanksgiving.  The  peace  and  quiet  activity  of 
the  year  was  however,  not  carried  on  into  the 
following  one  1897.  The  first  shadow  was  the 
sudden  and  severe  illness  of  the  present  writer, 
and  at  a  certain  stage  hope  of  recovery  was  sur- 
rendered and  my  father  was  called  to  Chicago, 
where  my  charge  then  was.  For  some  days  of 
anxiety  and  suspense  he  remained  haunting  the 
bedroom  for  some  gleam  of  hope.  He  preached 
on  Sunday  morning  in  the  vacant  pulpit,  and 
came  home  to  find  marks  of  improvement;  but 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       301 

the  rejoicing  was  cut  short  by  the  dreadful  news 
of  the  death  in  far-off  Santa  Barbara  of  the  third 
son  Richard,  whose  career  as  a  surgeon  had  been 
brilliant,  but  who  had  been  banished  by  ill-health 
to  California. 

In  suspense  still  about  me,  and  burdened  by  the 
dreadfully  unexpected  news  from  California,  he 
hurried  home  to  be  of  comfort  to  the  sorrowing 
mother.  And  in  the  same  spring  a  dearly  loved 
grandchild  was  stricken  down,  and  hope  and 
hopelessness,  and  long  periods  of  suspense  were 
brought  to  sad  termination;  and  deeply  did  my 
father  feel  the  sorrow  of  his  dearly  loved 
daughter. 

In  the  preoccupation  caused  by  these  sorrows 
upon  sorrows  there  was  brought  to  his  attention 
the  matter  of  an  assistantship.  This  question  had 
often  come  up ;  that  my  father  was  overworked  no 
one  doubted;  but  that  any  one  could  do  much  to 
help  him  was  seriously  questioned.  He  had  him- 
self a  great  dislike  of  repeating  the  experiment  of 
Dublin,  but  the  chief  difficulty  was  that  the  mo- 
ment an  assistantship  was  planned,  wires  were 
pulled  and  arrangements  made  to  force  upon  the 
church  men  whom  he  considered  unwise  choices. 
So  vigorous  were  these  efforts  that  again  and 
again  the  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty  seemed 


302       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

to  be  the  postponing  of  any  choice.  After 
calmly  viewing  the  evidence  it  is  hard  to  resist 
the  impression  that  some  of  the  bitterness  that 
clouded  these  last  days  was  the  direct  result  of 
these  disappointed  plans.  The  requirements  of 
the  place  of  assistant  or  co-pastor  to  one  who  had 
for  thirty  years  borne  such  a  burden  alone  were 
indeed  many.  It  was  needful  that  in  theological 
opinion  such  an  one  should  share  the  main  in- 
tellectual outlines  of  the  pulpit  instruction.  My 
father  had  many  feelings,  which  he  himself 
would  not  have  called  more  than  prejudices,  but 
which  he  cherished,  and  to  have  put  them  aside 
would  have  lost  him  much  discomfort.  He  had 
no  "principle,"  for  instance,  in  the  matter  of 
Church  music,  but  he  was  deeply  prejudiced 
against  the  ordinary  Church  choir.  He  had 
suffered  from  it  once,  and  disliked  it.  What 
other  Churches  did  was  a  matter  of  almost  in- 
difference to  him;  he  sometimes  even  enjoyed  a 
hearty  chorus  or  a  fine  rendering  of  some  simple 
church  music  in  churches  where  he  was  a  visitor, 
but  for  himself  he  disliked  anything  save  con- 
gregational singing  where  he  was  responsible  for 
the  service. 

To  the  present  writer  he  often  said  that  the 
embarrassments   of   an   assistantship   lay    much 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS        303 

along  this  line  of  putting  a  yoke  upon  a  younger 
man,  such  as  he  had  himself  felt  in  his  earlier 
days  to  be  irksome,  and  which  he  yet  felt  would 
be  necessary  if  the  arrangement  should  really  suc- 
ceed. Rightly  or  wrongly  he  now  felt  that  some 
who  were  not  wholly  loyal  and  friendly  to  him 
were  pushing  this  matter  with  selfish  purpose  in 
view. 

In  about  the  year  1889  there  had  come  a  young 
and  evidently  highly  gifted  converted  Jew,  Her- 
mann Warszawiak  by  name  to  New  York  with 
strong  letters  of  commendation,  and  with  personal 
letters  to  my  father.  After  some  signs  of  power 
in  preaching  to  his  countrymen  he  was  employed 
by  the  New  York  City  Mission,  and  carried  on 
his  work  with  seeming  success.  Letters  then 
came  to  New  York  of  a  confidential  nature  to  my 
father  warning  him  that  the  young  Jew  would  be 
attacked,  and  urging  him  to  protect  the  mission- 
ary against  what  was  said  to  be  a  conspiracy. 
Shortly  after  this  the  connection  between  Mr. 
Hermann  Warszawiak  and  the  New  York  City 
Mission  was  severed,  and  a  committee  under- 
took to  manage  the  work  he  had  begun.  This 
arrangement  did  not  succeed,  in  part  because  the 
committee  did  not  have  time  to  attend  to  the 
matter,  in  part  because  perhaps  Mr.  Warszawiak 


304       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

was  not  easily  managed.  The  work  had  my 
father's  full  endorsement.  He  trusted  Mr.  War- 
szawiak  fully,  although  even  then  strongly  ur- 
ging him  to  carefulness  in  money  matters. 
Attacks  began  now  to  be  made  upon  the  young 
missionary's  character.  These  were  of  a  vague 
and  general  nature.  At  once  my  father  investi- 
gated those  that  were  sufficiently  definite  to  be 
investigated,  and  in  one  case  at  least  the  charge 
was  at  once  proved  to  be  a  gross  and  clumsy 
slander.  Mr.  Warszawiak  was  responsible  to 
the  session  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  desired  to  be  taken  under  the  care 
of  presbytery.  Here  objection  was  made  and 
one  accuser  produced  documents  which  he  alleged 
contained  conclusive  evidence  of  bad  character. 
This  allegation  is  now  known  to  have  been  a 
misstatement,  for  all  the  charges  brought  against 
Mr.  Warszawiak  were  subsequent  to  that  meet- 
ing, and  no  evidence  can  yet  be  called  "  conclu- 
sive "  of  anything.  ^  Having  been  warned  of 
such  attacks  it  was  no  wonder  that  my  father 
constantly  demanded  evidence,  and  having  in  at 
least  three  several  instances  proved  conclusively 

1  The  following  is  the  text  of  the  judicial  finding  at  the  last 
Ecclesiastical  trial.  To  the  Moderator  and  Session  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church, 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       305 

that  charges  made  were  base  slanders,  it  was  the 
least  that  he  could  do  to  suspend  judgment. 

Sitting  as  a  Judicial  Court  of  Jesus  Christ, 
In  the  Matter  of  the  charges  preferred 

— against — 

Hermann  Warszawiak, 

a  member  of  the  Church. 


The  undersigned,  the  committee  appointed  in  the  above 
matter  to  report  what  course  of  proceedings  should  be  taken 
therein,  beg  leave  to  report,  that  they  have  considered  the  pro- 
ceedings heretofore  had  in  this  matter  before  this  session.  The 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  have  examined  the  charges  and  specifica- 
tions containing  the  names  of  proposed  witnesses  in  their  sup- 
port ;  and  also  the  two  petitions  of  the  accused  dated  respect- 
ively June  28th,  1898,  and  October  25th,  1899,  asking  that  a 
new  trial  be  issued. 

The  charges  are  that  the  accused  on  certain  dates  during  the 
months  of  January,  February  and  March,  1897,  won  and  lost 
money  by  gambling  in  a  public  gambling-house  and  pool-room. 
All  of  the  witnesses  named  in  the  specifications  in  support  of 
the  charges  (except  some  who  were  called  on  the  former  trial 
only  to  prove  formal  matters  which  did  not  touch  the  charges  of 
gambling)  are  professional  detectives;  none  of  them  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  (except  possibly  one)  and  some  of  them  are 
not  even  adherents  to  any  form  of  Christian  faith. 

The  evidence  of  such  witnesses  alone,  even  supposing  that 
they  should  swear  to  the  truth  of  the  charges,  would  not  be  con- 
sidered by  many  fair-minded  Christian  members  of  our  Church 
as  conclusive  of  the  guilt  of  a  fellow-member,  when  he  denied 
on  oath  the  truth  of  their  evidence,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
former  trial. 

There  is  no  suggestion  or  rumor  that  the  accused  has  since 


3o6       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

At  last  the  trial  took  place.  Of  that  so-called 
trial   the  less  that  is  said  the  better.     Whatever 

the  dates  mentioned  in  the  charges,  now  nearly  three  years  old, 
been  guilty  of  any  of  the  acts  charged  against  him,  and  he  has 
ever  since  continued  to  and  still  does  teach  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  in  an  acceptable  and  public  manner  to  members  of  his 
kindred. 

The  former  trial,  and  subsequent  proceedings  before  the 
Presbytery,  Synod  and  General  Assembly,  created  very  great 
excitement,  and  caused  very  bitter  and  unchristian  feeling,  not 
only  among  members  of  our  own  congregation  but  among  the 
members  of  the  whole  Church,  and  was  the  occasion  of  much 
scandal  to  the  Church  before  the  general  public. 

Your  committee  are  consequently  of  the  opinion  that  further 
prosecution  of  said  charges  could  not  result  in  any  good  or  to 
the  purity  of  the  Church,  but  on  the  contrary,  would  disturb  the 
peace  and  unity  of  our  own  congregation  and  of  the  church ; 
and  would  do  great  injury  to  the  cause  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  our  midst,  and  they  therefore  recommend  that  this 
court  do  not  proceed  with  a  retrial  of  the  accused  upon  said 
charges,  and  that  this  court  pass  the  following  preambles  and 
resolution,  namely : 

Whereas  it  is  now  nearly  three  years  since  the  dates  of  the 
alleged  immoral  conduct  charged  against  Hermann  Warsza- 
wiak,  namely,  gambling  at  a  certain  public  gambling-house  or 
pool-room  ; 

And  Whereas,  The  said  Hermann  Warszawiak  has  since 
that  date  been  debarred  from  the  Communion  of  this  Church; 

And  Whereas,  He  has  during  that  time  been  leading  a 
moral  life  and  has  not  ceased  to  publicly  teach  the  blessed  gos- 
pel of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  people  of  his  own  kindred  ; 

And  Whereas,  The  witnesses  named  in  the  specifications  to 
support  the  charges  (except  some  who  were  called  on  the 
former  trial  only  to  prove  formal  matters  not  touching  the 
charges  of  gambling),  are  professional  detectives,  are  not  mem- 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       307 

Mr.  Warszawiak  may  have  been— and  some  are 
still  inclined  to  suspend  judgment  on  this  point— 
the  trial  was  no  model  of  what  a  calm  Christian 
court  should  be  under  such  circumstances.  In 
the  finding  my  father  was  in  a  minority.  His 
verdict  however,  of  "  not  proven  "  was  sustained 
by  the  New  York  Synod  in  1898  after  my  father 
had  passed  from  the  field  of  conflict.  That  action 
was,  "  It  appears  that  injustice  may  have  been 
done  Warszawiak  in  the  original  trial  before  the 
session  in  not  appointing  him  any  counsel,  in  not 

bers  of  the  Church  (except  possibly  one)  and  some  of  them  are 
not  even  adherents  of  any  Christian  faith,  and  therefore  are  not 
such  that  unqualified  credence  should  be  given  them  ; 

And  Whereas,  The  former  trial  and  subsequent  proceedings 
therein  have  been  a  source  of  continual  irritation  and  a  hin- 
drance to  kindly  brotherly  Christian  feeling  in  the  Church,  and 
a  detriment  to  the  advancement  of  Christ's  Kingdom  in  our 
midst ; 

Therefore,  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  this  court  that 
a  retrial  of  Hermann  Warszawiak  upon  the  charges  heretofore 
preferred  against  him  would  not  result  in  any  good  or  to  the 
purity  of  the  Church,  but  on  the  contrary,  would  disturb  the 
peace  and  unity  of  our  congregation  and  of  the  church  ; 

Therefore,  Resolved,  That  the  said  charges  be,  and  they  hereby 
are,  dismissed,  and  that  he,  Hermann  Warszawiak,  be  and 
hereby  is  restored  to  the  communion  of  this  church  as  a  mem- 
ber in  good  and  regular  standing. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

Dated,  this  3d  day  of  November,  1899. 

This  action  became  the  action  of  the  Court,  though  not 
unanimously. 


3o8       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

granting  him  access  to  the  records,  in  totally 
striking  out  his  testimony  for  contumacy,  and  in 
allowing  undue  cross-examination  into  financial 
matters  not  included  in  the  original  charges. "  The 
appeal  was  therefore  sustained,  and  the  case  was 
ordered  to  be  retried.^    Rightly  or  wrongly  my 

1  The  full  text  of  the  Synod's  decision  is  as  follows : — 

The  appeal  of  Hermann  Warszawiak  from  the  judgment  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  sustaining  the  finding  and  judg- 
ment of  the  session  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Church  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  having  been  found  in  order  by  the  Synod  of  New 
York,  on  the  19th  day  of  October,  1898,  and  a  Judicial  Com- 
mission having  been  appointed  to  hear  and  determine  the  issues 
raised  by  such  appeal ;  and  such  commission  of  Synod  having 
met  on  the  19th,  20th  and  21st  days  of  October,  1898,  and 
proceeding  in  due  form  according  to  the  Book  of  Discipline, 
§  99 :  the  judgment,  the  notice  of  appeal,  the  appeal  and  the 
specifications  of  the  errors  alleged  having  been  read,  together 
with  so  much  of  the  records  of  the  case  as  was  admitted  by 
mutual  consent  of  the  parties,  the  appellant  and  respondent 
having  been  heard  at  length,  the  members  of  the  judicatory  ap- 
pealed from  having  been  heard,  and  also  the  members  of  the 
commission ;  the  vote  having  been  taken  on  each  specification 
of  error  alleged. 

"  The  said  Judicial  Commission,  after  voting  upon  each  ex- 
ception specified  in  the  notice  of  appeal,  does  determine  and 
adjudge  that  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  did  err  in  hearing 
and  adjudging  the  appeal  of  Hermann  Warszawiak  from  the 
session  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Church  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

"  It  finds  the  lower  court  in  error  in  irregularities  in  the  pro- 
ceedings :  I  spec.  7  and  12,  in  refusal  to  entertain  and  consider 
complaints  in  the  form  of  objections  and  exceptions.  II  spec. 
4,  in  refusal  of  reasonable  indulgence.  Ill  spec.  4,  5,  6  and 
12,  in  hastening  to  a  decision.    V  spec.  3  and  5,  and  therefore  it 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       309 

father  was  again  convinced  tliat  the  charges  of 
gambling  were  trumped  up,  and  certainly  no 
court  of  civil  justice  would  admit  the  evidence 
that  was  produced.  He  was  staggered  in  his  faith 
in  Mr.  Warszawiak  for  a  little  time  by  an  alleged 
confession  of  Mr.  Warszawiak's  to  a  prominent 
citizen  of  New  York.  But  my  father  was  a  good 
listener,  and  was  of  a  curiously  skeptical  mind  in 
every-day  affairs.  He  had  two  interviews  with 
the  gentleman  and  convinced  himself  that  the 
statements  made  were,  to  say  the  least,  inaccu- 
rate. He  marked  two  such  glaring  inaccuracies 
in  the  account  given  him  that  he  lost  faith  in  his 

sustains  the  appeal,  and  reverses  the  judgment  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  York. 

"  Further,  it  seems  to  the  commission  that  injustice  may  have 
been  done  Mr  .Warszawiak,  in  the  original  trial  before  the  session, 
in  not  appointing  him  any  counsel,  in  not  granting  him  access  to 
the  records,  in  totally  striking  out  his  testimony  for  contumacy, 
and  in  allowing  undue  cross-examination  into  financial  matters 
not  included  in  the  original  charges. 

"  It  is  therefore  the  order  of  this  Synod  that  the  appeal  be 
sustained,  and  that  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  be  instructed 
to  remand  this  case  to  the  session  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Church 
with  instructions  to  retry  Hermann  Warszawiak  upon  amended 
charges,  including  the  misuse  of  moneys  contributed  for  mis- 
sionary purposes." 

On  appeal  the  Assembly  of  1899  sustained  the  Synod  save 
only  striking  out  the  instructions  "  to  retry  on  amended 
charges  "  on  the  ground  that  original  jurisdiction  pertained  only 
to  the  session. 


310        SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

informant's  powers  of  objective  observation.  At 
the  same  time  he  felt  that  he  could  not  endorse 
the  work  to  others  until  the  matter  was  cleared 
up.  This  was  previous  to  the  trial  before  the 
session.  At  that  trial  he  was  still  farther 
convinced  that  whatever  might  be  the  truth, 
no  conclusive  proof  of  guilt  was  in  the 
possession  of  those  prosecuting  Mr.  War- 
szawiak. 

The  matter  was  still  farther  complicated  by  the 
somewhat  intemperate  defense  of  Mr.  Warsza- 
wiak  by  a  well-known  evangelist  from  England, 
who  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  facts  of  the 
case  but  impugned  in  an  unwise  manner  the 
motives  and  lives  of  those  who,  no  doubt,  sin- 
cerely distrusted  Mr.  Warszawiak.  For  that  at- 
tack my  father  felt  sincerely  sorry,  but  he  had  no 
reason  for  interfering,  as  he  was  neither  consulted 
by  nor  even  well-known  to  the  author  of  that 
attack. 

My  father,  it  is  true,  had  lost  confidence  in  the 
calm  impartiality  of  some  of  the  chief  assailants; 
and  the  outrageous  misstatements  of  one  of  them 
had  completely  undermined  my  father's  previous 
reliance  upon  his  fairness  and  good  judgment; 
at  the  same  time  his  one  steady  demand  was  evi- 
dence and   facts.     And  these  were  never  forth- 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       311 

coming.  The  last  authentic  judgment^  of  my 
father  was  written  from  Buxton,  England,  in  June, 
1898,  when  in  a  letter  to  the  Tribune  of  New 
York,  he  said: — 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Tribune. 

Sir: — May  I  ask  the  insertion  of  this  brief  staUment 
on  a  matter  concerning  which  more  letters  have  come  to  me 
than  I  have  been  able  to  answer. 

Mr.  Warszawiak  came  to  New  York  bringing  from  Europe 
the  strongest  letters  of  commendation,  including  one  of  intro- 
duction to  myself  from  a  prominent  minister  in  Edinburgh, 

He  was  taken,  after  a  little,  into  connection  with  the  New 
York  City  Mission,  and  for  a  considerable  time  had  strong  in- 
dorsement from  its  officers.  After  separating  from  it,  and  also 
from  a  committee  that  took  up  his  work,  he  went  on  with  it  in- 
dependently and  with  apparent  usefulness. 

•The  stages  of  the  case  were  as  follows:  About  1889  War- 
szawiak came  to  New  York.  Employed  by  New  York  City 
Missions.  United  with  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1890.  Honorably  discharged  by  City  Missions  in  1894-5. 
Carried  on  his  work  independently.  Applied  for  admission  to 
New  York  Presbytery,  1897.  Accused  and  convicted  before 
Session  of  Church,  1897.  Appealed  to  presbytery  and  trial  be- 
fore a  commission,  1897.  Appealed  to  Synod  October,  1898. 
Appeal  sustained,  but  new  charges  ordered.  Appealed  to  As- 
sembly 1899  against  that  order.  Sustained.  Synod  refused  to 
obey  Assembly  and  asked  for  instruction.  Warszawiak  asked 
for  new  trial  before  Church  Session.  Trial  had  before  Session 
and  case  dismissed  1899.  Appeal  and  complaint  lodged  against 
action  of  Session  in  dismissing.  Presbytery  found  appeal  and 
complaint  "not  in  order."  General  Assembly  at  St.  Louis  dis- 
missed whole  matter.  Mr.  Warszawiak  therefore  to-day  in  good 
standing  in  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church. 


312       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

The  charge  against  him,  which  was  referred  to  the  Presby- 
tery of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Church  Session,  namely,  gambling, 
was  held  by  a  minority  of  the  session  to  be  "  not  proven."  My 
opinion  was  with  the  minority.  The  matter  of  his  use  of 
money,  though  incidentally  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  session, 
had  not  been  referred  to  it. 

Mr.  Warszawiak  went  to  Europe,  it  was  understood,  to  ar- 
range money  matters.  Since  that  I  have  had  no  communica- 
tion from  him,  and  accordingly  I  am  not  in  a  condition  to  con- 
tinue indorsement  of  his  plans  for  pecuniary  aid.  It  appears  to 
be  my  duty,  therefore,  to  say  that — whatever  the  state  of  the 
case  may  be,  and  whatever  the  issue  of  his  appeal  to  the  church 
courts — it  is  impossible  for  me  to  answer  intelligently  the  ques- 
tion as  to  his  financial  management. 

John  Hall. 

Buxton,  England,  June  77,  j8g8. 


To  many  my  father  seemed  simply  obstinate, 
not  knowing  how  many  obscure  motives  on  the 
part  of  those  prosecuting  the  case  were  quite 
obvious  to  him.  The  young  Jew  was  really  very 
helpless  and  friendless.  My  father  had  moreover 
a  keen  sense  of  justice.  He  felt  that  in  accord- 
ance with  Anglo-Saxon  tradition  he  must  stand 
by  an  accused  man  and  treat  him  as  innocent 
until  he  should  be  proved  guilty.  All  the  old- 
fashioned  chivalry  of  his  nature  was  appealed  to, 
and  he  demanded  that  whether  Mr.  Warszawiak 
were  guilty  or  not,  he  at  least  should  have  a  fair 
trial  and  his  rightful  opportunity  to  establish  his 
innocence  if  possible. 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       313 

This  unhappy  incident  produced  many  alien- 
ations. Moreover  the  conditions  in  the  church 
had  much  changed.  Nearly  all  the  old  advisers 
of  my  father,  who  had  welcomed  him  to  the 
country  had  passed  away.  The  restlessness  of 
American  life  knows  little  of  sentiment,  and  ties 
are  easily  broken.  There  had'  been  discontent 
on  the  part  of  some  of  those  with  whom  my 
father  was  working  with  his  policy  in  many  di- 
rections. Some  disliked  his  course  in  the  the- 
ological controversy  of  the  past  years;  nothing 
but  a  bitter  partisanship,  of  which  he  was  inca- 
pable, would  have  satisfied  them. 

Others  desired  changes  that  could  not  easily  be 
made  while  his  "prejudices"  existed  against 
what  they  wished.  Some  of  the  younger  gener- 
ation did  not,  perhaps,  value  his  careful  pastoral 
work  as  highly  as  an  older  generation  had  done. 
When  he  took  the  part  of  Warszawiak  with  the 
minority  of  four,  it  became  evident  that  to  some 
extent  the  majority  of  the  session  was  on  trial. 
As  early  as  July,  1897,  a  rather  harsh  coarse  letter 
from  a  member  of  the  session  informed  my 
father  of  a  private  meeting  called  to  consider  dis- 
placing him.  This  was  a  fearful  shock  to  a  man 
bowed  with  sorrow,  and  was  perhaps  all  the 
more  disastrous  in  its  effects  that  it  was  borne 


314       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

alone  and  in  silence.  On  the  return  in  the 
autumn  of  that  year  another  such  private  meet- 
ing seems  to  have  been  held,  and  my  father  was 
given  to  understand  that  it  acted  in  the  sense  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  congregation.  He  ac- 
quiesced. A  special  committee  of  session  was 
appointed  to  corfsider  the  whole  matter,  and  he 
was  made  a  member  of  it.  Of  course  that  mem- 
bership was  purely  pro  forma,  he  simply  assented 
to  whatever  was  done  as  the  minute  introduced 
and  carried  shows.  That  minute  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

Whereas  our  pastor,  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,  after  thirty  years  of  arduous  labors 
amongst  us  feels  constrained  to  seek  relief  from 
the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  the  pastorate, 
and  has  advised  us  of  his  intention  to  apply  to 
presbytery  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relations  exist- 
ing between  him  and  this  church,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  session  desires  to  place 
on  record  its  very  deep  sense  of  Dr.  Hall's  untir- 
ing and  unselfish  labors,  and  the  great  blessings 
which  have  attended  his  ministry.  Coming  to 
this  country  and  becoming  our  pastor  in  1867,  he 
has  gone  in  and  out  amongst  us  for  thirty  years, 
preaching  the  Word,  visiting  our  sick,  burying 
our  dead,  and  bringing  comfort  and  help  to  souls 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       315 

cast  down  and  sorrowful.  The  prosperity  and 
usefulness  of  our  church  for  so  many  years  bear 
witness  to  the  blessings  which  have  attended  his 
labors.  Nor  have  these  labors  been  confined  to 
this  church  alone:  Church  Extension  in  this 
City,  Home  and  Foreign  Missions,  Ministerial 
Education,  Support  and  Relief,  all  Church  work 
has  been  benefited  by  his  services.  Indeed,  no 
form  of  religious  or  philanthropic  labor  can  be 
said  to  be  alien  to  him.  His  influence  for  good 
has  been  felt  and  recognized  throughout  the 
whole  Christian  world,  not  merely  in  his  own 
but  in  every  other  evangelical  denomination. 

Resolved,  That  a  meeting  of  the  church  and 
congregation  be  called  to  take  action  on  the 
pastor's  resignation,  on  Wednesday  evening, 
January  19,  1898,  at  8  o'clock  in  the  lecture  room, 
and  that  due  notice  of  the  same  be  given  from  the 
pulpit  at  the  morning  service  on  the  two  preced- 
ing Sabbaths,  as  required  by  the  laws  of  this  State. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  recommend  to  the 
church  and  congregation  at  the  meeting  so  to  be 
called,  that  they  accede  to  the  pastor's  request, 
and  for  that  purpose  that  they  appoint  commis- 
sioners to  presbytery  to  unite  with  him  in  seeking 
a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation. 

And  further  that  we  will  recommend  them  to 


3i6        SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS" 

appoint  Dr.  Hall  "Pastor  Emeritus,"  and  vote 
him  an  appropriate  retiring  allowance. 

And  that  we  will  also  recommend  that  they 
appoint  a  committee  to  cooperate  with  a  similar 
committee,  to  be  appointed  by  the  session,  to 
take  steps  looking  to  the  choosing  of  a  suit- 
able successor  to  the  pastorate. 

Resolved,  That  we  unite  with  our  pastor  in 
requesting  the  Rev.  Dr.  Howard  Duffield  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York  to  act  as  moderator  at 
the  said  meeting  of  the  church  and  congregation. 

This  minute  was  adopted  at  a  special  meeting 
of  the  session  held  on  the  6th  of  January,  and 
my  father  read  the  following  letter: 

yi2  Fifth  Avenue, 
'New  York,  6th  January,  i8g8. 
Dear  Brethren  of  the  Session  : 

Having  been  privileged  to  preach  the  Gospel  for  more 
than  forty-eight  years,  and  having  been  pastor  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  congregation  for  thirty  years,  I  have  decided — after 
lengthened  and  prayerful  consideration  of  the  matter — to  re- 
sign the  pastorate  of  the  church,  and  so  to  give  opportunity  to 
the  congregation  to  choose  a  successor  of  requisite  energy  and 
vigor  for  the  v^^ork;  and  I  pray  God  to  guide  the  congregation 
— in  which  I  have  felt  the  deepest  interest,  and  for  the  spiritual 
good  of  whose  members  I  have  labored — in  the  selection. 

Whatever  appears  to  the  session  to  be  best  in  the  circumstances 
— whether  to  give  up  pastoral  work  and  preaching  at  once,  or 
to  go  on  until  a  successor  is  found — I  am  ready  to  undertake. 
I  am,  Dear  Brethren, 

Fraternally  yours, 
J.  Hall. 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       317 

The  session  adjourned,  and  met  again  on  the 
17th  of  January,  1898,  when  the  resolutions  ap- 
pended were  passed: 

Resolved,  That  the  session  recommend  to  the 
congregation  that  in  accordance  with  the  pastor's 
wish  and  the  report  of  our  committee,  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  be  passed: 

Resolved,  That  this  church  unites  with  the 
Reverend  Dr.  John  Hall  in  his  application  to 
presbytery  for  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  re- 
lations, and  appoint  commissioners  to  represent 
this  church  in  presbytery,  and  instruct  them  to 
support  our  pastor's  application,  to  take  effect  on 
the  15th  day  of  June,  1898,  and  not  earlier. 

Resolved,  That  the  Reverend  Dr.  John  Hall  be 
appointed  pastor  emeritus  of  this  church  from 
and  after  the  15th  day  of  June,  1898,  and  that  an 
annual  salary  of  Five  thousand  ($5,000)  dollars 
be  paid  to  him  during  the  continuance  of  such 
relations. 

Resolved,  That  commissioners  above  named 
be  authorized  with  the  trustees  of  this  church  to 
execute  an  agreement  to  that  effect  on  behalf  of 
this  church  and  congregation. 

The  reading  however  of  the  letter  and  the  reso- 
lutions had  called  out  a  storm  of  questions. 
Those  questions  were  imprudently  answered  by 


31 8        SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

members  of  the  session,  and  the  private  meetings 
became  public  property. 

Although  the  action  had  been  hitherto  unani- 
mous certain  members  of  the  session  felt  deeply 
hurt  at  things  said  to  the  now  weary  and  heart- 
sick pastor.  That  the  resignation  was  forced 
upon  my  father  was  not  only  known,  but  even 
brutally  boasted  about  by  one  of  those  opposed 
to  him.  The  storm  of  indignation  that  at  once 
broke  loose  was  a  tribute  to  the  immense  power 
my  father  yielded.  The  session  was  at  once  in 
difficulty,  and  felt  that  they  were  without  sup- 
port in  the  congregation.  From  the  situation 
only  some  strong  word  of  support  from  the  pas- 
tor stating  that  the  resignation  was  wholly  vol- 
untary could  save  them.  But  a  truthful  denial 
was  under  the  circumstances  impossible.  One 
of  the  members  of  his  session  summed  up  the  situ- 
ation in  a  letter  to  my  father  of  the  i8th  of 
January: 

My  DEAR  Dr.  Hall: 

I  must  express  to  you  my  feelings  of  sadness  in  the 
treatment  you  have  received  from  the  majority  of  our  session. 
I  cannot  forget  the  harsh  words  spoken  to  you  by  some  of 
them — you  who  have  been  so  faithful  and  so  untiring  for  such  a 
number  of  years.  I  cannot  understand  how  they  can  expect 
you  now  to  come  and  stand  in  the  breach  which  their  blunder- 
ing has  brought  about. 

After  leaving  the  room  last  evening  some  of  them  said  that 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       319 

if  you  would  write  a  strong  letter  all  would  be  made  right.  I 
said  how  can  you  expect  Dr.  Hall  to  write  a  strong  letter  after 
the  way  some  of  the  session  have  spoken  to  him.^  I  do  not 
think  you  should  say  any  more  than  what  you  did  in  your  letter 
of  resignation.  If  you  leave  hundreds  will  follow  you,  and 
leave  the  church  to  go  elsewhere,  so  it  will  not  be  for  the  good 
of  the  congregation.  I  trust  you  will  stand  where  you  are  and 
let  the  congregation  show  you  and  the  session  what  they  desire. 
I  am  yours  very  truly. 

Hundreds  of  letters  came  pouring  in.  Many 
called,  and  in  three  days  it  was  plain  that  the 
resignation  under  such  circumstances  would  lead 
a  large  number  to  leave  the  church.  Members 
of  the  session  had  led  my  father  to  believe  that 
practically  the  whole  of  the  congregation  had 
been  sounded,  and  desired  his  resignation; 
he  was  now  willing  to  leave  the  whole  matter 
to  the  congregation.  This  was  the  course  urged 
by  advisers  in  whom  he  trusted. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  January  the  congregation 
met  and  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

Whereas.  The  session  of  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church  has  called  this  meeting  of 
the  congregation  to  take  action  on  the  proposed 
resignation  of  our  pastor,  Dr.  John  Hall,  referred 
to  in  his  letter  to  the  session  under  date  of  Jan- 
uary 6th,  1898, 

Resolved,  That  the  congregation  respectfully 
decline  to  accept  or  to  approve  of  such  proposed 


320        SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

resignation,  and  also  decline  to  appoint  commis- 
sioners for  the  purpose  of  uniting  with  the  pas- 
tor in  seeking  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  rela- 
tion by  the  presbytery;  and 

Resolved,  That  adopting  as  an  expression  of  the 
feelings  of  this  congregation,  the  several  peti- 
tions and  resolutions  of  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary,  the 
Young  Women's  Missionary  Society,  the  Young 
People's  Association,  the  Sunday-school,  and  of 
the  members  of  the  church  and  congregation 
presented  herewith  as  part  of  this  resolution,  and 
tendering  to  Dr.  Hall  the  loving  assurance  of  co- 
operation with  him  in  the  future  work  of  this 
church,  the  congregation  urgently  request  him  to 
reconsider  and  withdraw  any  and  all  action  taken  by 
him  looking  towards  such  resignation ;  and  further, 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Robert  Bonner,  Samuel 
B.  Schieffelin,  William  Brookfield,  J.  Henry 
Work  and  Mrs.  Theodore  Weston  be  appointed 
a  committee  to  communicate  these  resolutions  to 
Dr.  Hall;  and  that  this  meeting  do  stand  ad- 
journed for  two  weeks  from  this  date,  for  their 
report,  and  for  such  other  action  as  may  be 
deemed  proper. 

yanuary  14th,  i8g8. 
At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary  to  the  Boards 
of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  called  by  the  Executive  Committee  and  held  this  day 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       321 

with  a  large  attendance  of  its  members,  the  following  preamble 
and  resolution  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  We,  the  members  of  the  Ladies  of  th?  Auxiliary 
to  the  Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  have  heard  with  deep  sorrow  and 
regret  of  the  resignation  of  our  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  John  Hall, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

And  Whereas,  We,  as  an  organization  representing  an  im- 
portant department  of  the  work  of  the  women  of  the  church,  and 
profoundly  loving  the  church  to  which  we  are  bound  by  the 
closest  ties  of  inheritance  and  personal  consecration,  feel  it  our 
duty  and  our  privilege  to  accept  our  full  share  of  responsibility 
for  every  act  of  the  church,  which  may  affect  the  honor  of  the 
Great  Head  of  the  Church,  of  our  church  itself,  or  of  our 
pastor ; 

Therefore,  Resolved,  That  while  as  individuals,  we  have  made 
haste  to  express  our  sense  of  the  deep  personal  obligation  to  Dr. 
Hall,  which  we  feel  for  his  faithful  teaching  and  exhortation,  for 
his  ready  sympathy  in  every  time  of  joy  and  sorrow,  and  for  his 
tender  ministrations  in  the  dark  hours  of  bereavement,  we  do 
now  desire,  as  an  organization,  to  publicly  express  our  love,  our 
confidence  and  our  loyalty  to  Dr.  Hall  and  respectfully  but 
most  earnestly  to  request  the  church  not  to  accept  his  proffered 
resignation. 

We  therefore  request  that  this  paper  be  read  at  the  meeting  of 
the  church  and  congregation  to  be  held  on  Wednesday,  January 
19th,  1898,  in  behalf  of  this  Auxiliary. 

(Signed)  Catherine  B.  Weston,  President. 

Mary  G.  Janeway,  Secretary. 


Whereas,  We,  the  members  of  the  Young  Women's  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  have 
heard  with  deep  regret  of  the  resignation  of  our  beloved  pastor, 
Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

Whereas,     We,   as   an   organization,    representing   in  our 


322        SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

membership  nearly  every  family  of  the  church,  bound  by 
closest  ties  and  deep  devotion  to  both  pastor  and  church,  have 
met  together  with  a  full  sense  of  our  responsibility,  both  personal 
and  as  a  society, 

Whereas,  We  realize  all  Dr.  Hall  has  been  and  is  to  each 
one  of  us  by  his  sympathy,  his  encouragement  and  his  example, 
that  by  his  teaching  and  preaching  he  has  inspired  us  with  a 
living  interest  in  missions,  and  loving  hitn  with  all  our 
hearts. 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  make  public  expressions  of  our 
love  and  loyalty  to  Dr.  Hall,  That  we  respectfully  and  earnestly 
request  the  church  not  to  accept  his  resignation. 

Maria  Louisa  Schieffelin,  President. 


Whereas,  Our  beloved  pastor,  Dr.  John  Hall,  has  handed 
to  the  session  of  our  church  his  resignation  as  pastor  and  the 
session  have  called  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  church  to 
consider  this  resignation,  and 

Whereas,  We,  the  members  of  the  Young  People's  Associa- 
tion of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  desire  publicly 
to  express  our  love  and  devotion  for  Dr.  Hall,  and  our  deep 
grief  at  learning  of  his  resignation,  and  our  complete  confidence 
in  him  as  our  spiritual  guide,  our  pastor  and  our  friend,  and, 
further,  that  it  is  not  our  wish  that  he  resign  as  we  appreciate 
all  that  he  has  done  for  us  as  younger  members  of  his  congrega- 
tion by  counsel  and  by  example  and  by  his  active  interest  in  our 
association  as  has  been  shown  by  his  presence  at  nearly  all  our 
religious  meetings,  and  as  we,  or  at  least  many  of  us,  owe  him 
special  affection  on  account  of  his  ministrations  in  baptizing  us 
into  the  church  and  also  in  being  the  means  of  leading  us  to  a 
public  acknowledgment  of  our  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 

Be  it  Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  request  Dr.  Hall  to  re- 
consider his  resignation,  and  we  most  earnestly  hope  that  it  will 
not  be  accepted  by  the  said  meeting  of  the  congregation. 

Be  it  Resolved  Further,     That  we  request  that  this  resolution 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       323 

be  read  by  the  moderator  at  the  meeting  of  the  church  and 
congregation  to  be  held  on  Wednesday,  January  19th,  1898,  on 
behalf  of  this  Association. 

William  Sloane,  President. 
Elizabeth  Ellen  Anchincloss,  Secretary. 

Whereas,  The  Woman's  Employment  Society  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  have  heard,  with  profoundest 
sorrovir,  of  the  resignation  of  our  beloved  friend  and  pastor,  Dr. 
John  Hall,  whose  philanthropic  heart  and  kindly  counsel  made 
our  labors  both  lovely  and  successful. 

Therefore  be  it  resolved  that  we,  in  all  sincerity,  pray  that 
Dr.  Hall  may  reconsider  his  determination  to  lay  down  the  pas- 
torate, which  has  so  greatly  blessed  our  city,  and  glorified  God, 
and  that  he  may  continue  to  guide  us  with  his  counsel  and 
"  break  unto  us  the  bread  of  life." 

We,  Therefore,  request  that  his  resignation  be  not  concurred 
in  and  that  any  commissioners  who  may  be  appointed  to  go  to 
the  presbytery  be  instructed  to  oppose  the  acceptance  of  his 
resignation,  and  that  this  paper  be  read  by  the  moderator  at  the 
meeting  of  the  church  and  congregation  to  be  held  on  January 
nineteenth,  1898. 

Fannie  Ogden  Dutcher,  Secretary. 

The  only  communication  from  my  father  was 
a  letter  through  the  moderator  saying: 

My  dear  Brother  : 

Let  me  ask  you,  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  evening, 
to  inform  the  congregation  that  I  have  agreed  to  the  resolution 
of  the  session  that  my  resignation  should  not  take  effect  until 
next  June.  My  earnest  prayer  is  that  God  in  His  goodness 
will  direct  such  steps  as  will  make  for  Christian  harmony  and 
continued  usefulness  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church. 
Yours  fraternally 

J.  Hall. 


324       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

To  the  committee  my  father  made  the  follow- 
ing communication: 

My  dear  Friends: 

On  the  6th  of  January  in  presenting  my  resignation  of 
the  pastorate  of  the  congregation  at  a  meeting  of  session  I 
offered  to  give  up  work  at  once,  or  to  go  on  until  a  successor 
should  be  found.  One  of  a  series  of  very  kind  resolutions  of 
the  session  was  that  a  meeting  of  the  church  and  congregation 
should  be  held  on  January  19th  to  take  action  on  the  resigna- 
tion, according  to  our  form  of  government. 

That  meeting  was  held  on  January  the  19th  and  it  was  duly 
reported  to  me  that  the  clerk  of  session  was  the  secretary,  that 
several  of  the  elders  were  present,  and  that  there  was  no  other 
view  presented  than  that — as  you  were  appointed  to  inform  me 
— my  resignation  should  not  be  accepted ;  and  no  committee 
was  appointed  to  carry  the  matter  to  presbytery. 

Believing  that  this  meeting  represented  the  feelings  of  the 
church  and  congregation,  and  having  had  many  most  tender 
appeals  from  members,  and  there  having  been  no  other  course 
suggested  by  the  officers  of  the  church,  I  announced  from  the 
pulpit  on  the  following  Lord's  day  my  willingness  to  continue 
in  service,  so  long  as  strength  was  given  from  above,  and  this 
was  done  from  an  earnest  desire  to  quiet  anxiety  on  the  subject 
and  continue  the  happy  Christian  unity  of  the  congregation. 
In  Dr.  Hodge's  book  on  Presbyterian  Law  there  is  a  statement 
of  what  is  to  be  done  under  such  circumstances  by  the  pastor 
(section  quoted).  Let  me  add,  dear  friends,  as  representing 
the  congregation,  that  I  mean  to  continue  as  active  pastor,  only 
while  the  services  are  for  the  spiritual  good  of  the  congregation. 
I  am  responsible  to  the  Head  of  the  Church  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  members,  whether  rich  or  poor,  and  God  helping  me  I 
shall  do  the  best  I  can  for  them.  Considering  the  many  years 
of  work  graciously  given  me,  that  period  cannot  be  very  re- 
mote, and  my  prayer  is  that  the  Divine  Head  of  the  Church 
may  direct  to  the  harmonious  choice  of  an  "  able  minister  "  as 


SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS       325 

successor  ;  and  in  the  meantime,  if  it  seem  fit,  to  a  competent 
assistant.     I  am,  dear  brethren  in  the  good  hope  through  grace, 

Truly  yours 

John  Hall. 


The  result,  although  foreseen  by  some,  dis- 
tressed my  father  beyond  measure.  The  trustees 
resigned  in  a  body,  and  nine  of  the  elders  ten- 
dered their  resignations,  saying  they  regarded  the 
step  as  forced  upon  them  by  the  action  of  the 
congregation. 

Undoubtedly  hard  things  had  been  said  of  the 
session,  and  it  was  true  that  they  undoubtedly 
deeply  misunderstood  the  mind  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  no  longer  represented  it.  A  strong 
body  of  trustees  was  at  once  elected  to  take  the 
place  of  those  resigned,  but  delay  was  urged  to 
see  if  the  session  might  not  be  reconstituted  as 
of  old.  This  was  found  to  be  impossible,  the 
resignations  were  accepted  and  good  men  were 
elected  in  their  places.  Some  left  the  church,  but 
the  enthusiasm  called  out  by  the  struggle  to  re- 
tain their  beloved  pastor  far  more  than  offset  any 
such  losses. 

The  strain  of  a  long  interval  since  then  without 
a  pastor  has  been  splendidly  withstood,  and  after 
my  father's  death  upon  obtaining  competent 
leadership  the  work  of  the  church  was  resumed 


326       SUCCESSES  AND  SHADOWS 

with  full  vigor,  and  perhaps  with  an  increased 
sense  of  congregational  responsibility  for  the 
success  and  condition  of  all  the  work  in  which 
the  church  was  engaged. 

The  scenes  of  affection,  and  the  evidences  of 
devotion  deeply  touched  my  father. 

He  had  however  felt  a  shock  that  warned  him 
how  deeply  his  life  was  bound  up  with  his  peo- 
ple. A  coarse  insulting  letter  from  a  member  of 
his  session  utterly  misrepresenting  the  course  of 
events  was  the  only  incident  on  which  I  ever 
heard  from  him  an  indignant  word.  The  mis- 
representation of  his  motives,  the  coldness  of 
those  whom  he  loved  as  his  children,  and  the 
shameful  misrepresentations  of  the  feelings  of 
the  congregation  had  done  their  work.  The 
proud,  shy,  self-contained  heart,  schooled  to  self- 
control,  to  passionate  pity,  and  to  tender  con- 
sideration for  every  one  but  itself,  broke  under 
the  strain.  The  shadow  of  the  coming  transla- 
tion was  already  on  the  home. 


XIII.     THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME 


THE  EVENTIDE 

One  loves  to  mark  the  setting  sun, 
Sink  in  the  west,  his  day's  work  done, 
With  good  to  all — with  harm  to  none, 
In  the  quiet  evening  time  ! 

One  loves  to  mark  the  lessening  light. 
And  mark  the  steps  of  coming  night. 
While  home  and  life  to  him  are  bright 
In  the  quiet  evening  time. 

One  loves  in  easy  window  chair 
To  breathe  the  cooler  evening  air. 
And  think  of  all  things  calm  and  fair, 
In  the  quiet  evening  time. 

One  loves  to  think  of  rest  at  last, 
To  come  at  length,  now  coming  fast. 
When  all  life's  toils  and  griefs  are  past 
In  the  quiet  evening  time. 

One  loves  to  summon  well-loved  friends, 
Whose  memory  with  his  heart-life  blends. 
From  graves  at  earth's  remotest  ends 
In  the  quiet  evening  time. 

One  loves  to  think  how  silent  night. 
Gives  place  at  length  to  morning  light. 
When  west  and  east  will  all  be  bright ; 
In  the  quiet  evening  time. 

— J.  Hall. 
March  5th,  1882. 
Published  in  the  New  York  Ledger. 


328 


XIII 

THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME 

7HE  ILLNESS  IN  NEW  YORK.  ORDERED  TO  BUXTON.  THE 
INCREASING  WEAKNESS.  THE  JOURNEY  TO  IRELAND.  LAST 
yiSIT  TO  liUTLAND  SQUARE.  THE  JOURNEY  NORTH.  HOME 
LONGINGS.     THE  LAST  HOURS. 

THE  wonderful  self-possession  that  marked 
my  father's  life  at  any  crisis,  never  left 
him  during  the  agitations  and  excitements  of  the 
days  of  great  strain  in  the  beginning  of  1898. 
After  the  successful  reorganization  of  the  church, 
and  after  the  election  of  a  strong  body  of  trustees 
had  insured  the  pecuniary  affairs,  he  took  up 
work  with  seeming  vigor;  the  workers  were 
called  together,  the  various  branches  of  church- 
life  reviewed.  The  session  that  had  resigned  had 
desired  to  close  a  mission  church  which  my  father 
thought  the  congregation  under  a  moral  obligation 
to  maintain,  the  funds  for  keeping  it  up  were  at 
once  put  into  the  new  session's  hands,  and  the  offer 
of  the  sale  of  the  building  was  withdrawn.  The 
congregations  increased,  no  doubt,  in  part  through 
the  publicity  given  to  the  resignation  and  its  with- 
drawal. 

329 


330      THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME 

The  outward  composure  was  however  paid  for 
by  a  heavy  price.  Naturally  a  man  of  peace, 
dearly  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  congregation, 
it  had  been  a  heavy  blow  to  be  dealt  with  so 
roughly.  Men  of  affairs,  accustomed  to  battle 
with  not  overscrupulous  opponents;  roughened 
by  life  on  the  plane  of  the  ethics  of  "  the  street," 
and  accustomed  to  force  their  plans  to  an  issue 
without  much  consideration  for  others'  feelings, 
were  not  in  a  position  to  judge  of  what  the  dis- 
turbance, and  their  desertion  of  my  father  cost 
him.  The  crisis  came  when  relative  peace  and 
harmony  had  been  restored  by  the  withdrawal 
from  the  counsels  of  the  Church  of  all  save  one 
or  two  of  those  not  in  sympathy  with  the  pastor. 
On  March  25th  my  father  was  taken  suddenly 
with  trouble  of  the  poor  weary  heart.  He 
struggled  manfully  against  the  rapidly  increasing 
disablement.  In  May  he  presided  at  the  com- 
munion service,  but  speaking  was  too  great  a 
risk,  and  although  he  conducted  some  funerals 
and  married  a  few  couples,  he  had  to  forego 
preaching,  and  in  June  was  sent  by  the  doctors 
across  the  water  to  find  the  rest  which  now 
alone  promised  any  hope  of  recovery.  The 
present  writer  was  in  Europe  and  hurried  at 
once  to  England  to  meet  the  parents  at  Buxton 


THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME     331 

whither  the  doctors  had  sent  them.  The  change 
wrought  by  that  fatal  winter  was  all  too  ap- 
parent. The  strong  ceaseless  worker  was  a 
broken  and  tired-out  patient.  No  complaints 
were  on  his  lips,  but  the  pulse  was  irregular,  and 
the  breathing  often  bad;  what  the  doctors 
ordered  was  gently  and  uncomplainingly  taken. 
In  Buxton  the  strength  seemed  at  least  to  hold 
out,  and  having  made  arrangements  to  meet  the 
parents  again  the  writer  went  back  to  the  conti- 
nent. 

While  at  Buxton  a  great  longing  overcame  my 
father  to  visit  once  more  the  old  home  amid  the 
green  fields  of  Ireland.  He  longed  again  to  ex- 
change greetings  with  the  sisters  whose  love 
never  left  him. 

Unwilling  to  postpone  his  visit  he  telegraphed 
me  not  to  come  back  to  Ireland,  and  that  he  and 
my  mother  would  make  the  journey  alone.  That 
I  knew  to  be  out  of  the  question  and  leaving 
Austria  I  hurried  as  fast  as  possible  up  to  the 
north  of  England  and  arrived  in  time  to  catch 
them  still  there.  The  change  in  the  few  weeks 
was  all  too  obvious.  The  springy  step  was  the 
slow  pace  of  a  worn-out  man.  Heart  stimulant 
had  to  be  taken  at  intervals  that  seemed  most 
alarming.      The  journey   to   Ireland    passed   off 


332      THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME 

fairly  well,  and  fair  weather  favored  the 
travellers. 

Great  was  my  father's  delight  to  find  at  Holy- 
head Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  Magee  his  old  col- 
lege chum  and  his  wife,  lifelong  devoted  friends. 
That  little  meeting  was  sweet  and  fragrant  with 
tender  words  of  love  and  confidence,  even  as  if 
each  knew  that  only  in  the  everlasting  peace 
would  they  see  each  other  again. 

In  Dublin  a  rest  had  to  be  taken.  On  Sabbath 
morning  we  went  together  back  to  the  old 
familiar  church  on  Rutland  Square,  where  in 
days  now  forever  past  crowds  had  hung  on  the 
words  of  gentle  comfort,  strong  warning  and 
glorious  offers  of  eternal  life.  It  was  the  last 
public  service  he  was  ever  to  attend. 

My  father  could  scarcely  bare  the  strain  of 
standing,  and  the  kindly  greetings  of  those  who 
came  up  to  him  awestruck  and  saddened  by  the 
great  change,  greatly  weaned  him.  One  has 
borne  witness  in  print  to  the  impression  then 
made. 

"That  Dr.  Hall  had  been  wounded,  harassed, 
humiliated  no  one  who  saw  the  change  these 
last  years  made  in  him  could  doubt.  With  sad 
hearts  his  friends  saw  him  a  broken  man,  and 
this  at  the  end  of  his  long,  faithful  life.     Perhaps 


THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME     333 

it  was  all  needed  to  loosen  the  strong  ties  of 
earth.  The  storm  made  him  welcome  the  haven. 
Perhaps  he  needed  to  know  more  fully  than  he 
had  yet  known  'the  fellowship  of  His  suffer- 
ings.'    Anyhow  he  has  won  his  rest." 

The  old  strong  longing  for  the  fields  of  the 
quiet  north  of  Ireland  made  itself  felt,  but  the 
physical  condition  made  the  journey  impossible, 
Monday  he  rested,  and  on  Tuesday  got  up  and 
drove  out  for  a  little.  That  day  our  visit  was 
made  to  the  old  time  friend  of  long  ago;  Mr. 
Smith  of  the  Vice  Regal  Lodge  gardens  was 
sought  out.  He  also  was  nearing  the  setting 
sun,  and  waiting  for  the  dayspring  from  on 
high.  In  broken  accents  prayer  was  offered  up, 
and  as  we  drove  away  through  the  once  so 
familiar  fields  of  Phoenix  Park  old  memories  of 
past  friendships  and  bright  hopes  of  future  re- 
unions stirred  my  father  to  an  outburst  of  gentle 
thankfulness  for  God's  wonderful  goodness 
amid  the  calms  as  amidst  the  storms  of  his  life. 
The  journey  to  Bangor  was  to  have  been  broken 
at  Belfast,  but  my  father's  impatience  to  see  his 
sister  would  brook  no  delay,  and  we  went  on. 
This  journey  tested  all  his  strength,  and  with 
difficulty  he  was  gotten  to  bed  in  the  home  on 
Crawfordsburn  Road  that  was  to  be  for  him  the 


334      THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME 

portal  to  the  Eternal  City.  He  had  hoped  to 
visit  Ballygorman,  the  place  of  his  childhood  and 
birth.  This  was  no  longer  to  be  thought  of,  but 
to  satisfy  him  I  left  him  for  a  night,  and  brought 
back  word  from  the  old  home,  and  warned  the 
sorrowing  sisters  of  the  serious  character  of  the 
illness. 

Ceaselessly  my  mother  tended  with  untiring 
love  the  gentle  uncomplaining  invalid.  For  those 
last  days  a  Heavenly  Father  gave  a  most  remark- 
able strength  and  endurance  to  one,  who  had 
herself  been  very  near  the  gates.  Towards  even- 
ing one  day  my  father  ventured  a  few  steps 
from  the  house  to  overlook  the  sea,  on  which  the 
evening  sun  was  shining,  tipping  the  wavelets 
with  a  golden  red.  To  him  it  seemed  an  image 
of  that  everlasting  beauty  awaiting  him  in  the 
presence  of  his  Saviour  King. 

Now  and  then  he  asked  me  if  his  voice  was 
weak.  It  was,  alas,  weak  and  husky,  but  this, 
I  assured  him  was  natural  after  so  severe  an  ill- 
ness. His  sisters  and  old  friends  from  Belfast 
visited  him,  and  he  seemed  cheered  and  helped 
by  these  visits.  Indeed  in  Dublin  also  faithful 
friends  greatly  comforted  him,  and  when  at  the 
station  a  lifelong  and  dearly  loved  friend  brought 
her  sister's  little  girls  with  fruit  and  flowers  he 


THE  LAST  JOURNEY  HOME      335 

was  wonderfully  brightened  up  and  cheered  by 
it.  Yet  on  the  whole,  weakness  asserted  itself 
more  and  more.  Less  and  less  did  the  beating 
heart  respond  to  the  remedies,  and  when  on 
Wednesday  I  returned  from  the  old  homestead 
with  news  from  Ballygorman,  the  physician  in 
charge  had  wisely  telegraphed  for  assistance  from 
Belfast.  But  the  specialist  could  do  no  more  than 
was  being  done.  The  diagnosis  was  muscular 
degeneration  of  the  heart,  what  is  so  pathetically 
called  in  popular  tongue  "the  sad  heart"  a  con- 
dition the  doctor  said — although  knowing  noth- 
ing of  the  circumstances  of  my  father's  illness — 
due  to  worry  and  anxiety.  The  doctors  held  out 
no  hope.  From  that  on  only  watching  and  wait- 
ing was  our  portion.  There  were  intervals  of 
restlessness,  and  then  apathy,  then  a  ceaseless 
struggle  for  breath  marked  the  closing  hours. 

The  last  night  we  watched  together,  mother 
and  son,  and  when  the  morning  broke,  the  sun 
shining  over  the  water  and  flooding  the  room 
with  splendid  glory,  the  Saviour  called  the  tired 
messenger  home  to  peace  and  rest  and  his  ever- 
lasting reward. 


XIV.     THE  LAST  RITES 


"THERE  REMAINETH  THEREFORE  A   REST   FOR 
THE  PEOPLE  OF  GOD" 

Hebrews  4 : 9. 

There  is  a  home  for  the  child  of  God 

Whose  sins  have  been  all  forgiven, 
And  the  weary  believer  forgets  his  load 

Of  cares  when  he  enters  heaven  — 
O  ye  !  whose  hearts  are  with  griefs  opprest 
Rejoice  for  this  world  is  not  your  rest. 

There  is  a  friend  in  that  world  above 

And  His  love  is  deep  and  pure. 
That  friend  is  Christ,  and  His  arm  is  strong. 

And  His  mercy  is  ever  sure. 
Hear  this  O  ye  !  who  love  His  name 
He  knows  the  weakness  of  your  frame. 

And  there  is  a  heart  in  that  world  above 

With  a  love  that  is  better  than  wine. 
For  oh  !  how  tender  and  large  that  heart 

And  how  filled  with  love  divine  ! 
O  ye,  whose  comforts  below  are  few, 
That  heart  is  Christ's  and  He  cares  for  you. 

And  there  are  joys  in  that  world  above. 

The  highest,  and  purest  and  best, — 
How  sweet  the  news  to  a  weary  soul 

Of  a  near,  eternal  rest ! 
Rejoice  and  be  glad !  for  to  you  it  is  given 
To  suffer  and  trust,  but  your  rest  is  in  heaven. 


338 


XIV 

THE  LAST  RITES 

THE  FUNERAL  IN  IRELAND.  THE  H^EMAINS  TAKEN  TO  NEIV 
YORK.  SERVICES  IN  NEW  YORK.  TRIBUTES  TO  THE  MEMORY. 
THE  LAST  n{ESTING -PLACE. 

THE  passage  for  my  parents  had  been  taken 
on  the  Cunard  Line  for  the  17th  of  Sep- 
tember, but,  of  course,  word  had  been  duly  sent 
that  illness  would  prevent  their  sailing.  Arrange- 
ments were  therefore  now  made  for  taking  the 
dear  remains  the  following  week.  The  eldest 
son  had  arrived  half-an-hour  after  the  closing 
scene,  having  travelled  in  haste  to  Bangor.  On 
Sabbath  afternoon  simple  services  were  held  in 
the  home  of  the  sister,  Mrs.  Magowan. 

In  that  home  my  father  had  had  peculiar  pleas- 
ure, as  he  aided  in  planning  and  building  the 
house.  The  Rev.  Mr.  I.  McCauly,  the  pastor  of 
one  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in  Bangor,  most 
kindly  and  sympathetically  conducted  simple 
services,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Robert  Patter- 
son and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Crawford.  The  moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly  most  kindly  desired 
more  public  recognition  in  the  way  of  a  larger 
339 


340  THE  LAST  RITES 

service,  but  the  health  of  my  mother,  and  the 
dread  of  increasing  a  strain  already  great  made 
such  a  course  impossible. 

The  funeral  services  in  New  York  were  on  the 
morning  of  October  the  4th,  1898,  in  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  into  which  so  much 
of  my  father's  life  had  been  built.  Dr.  John  Mc- 
intosh of  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Wm.  M.  Paxton  of 
Princeton  and  the  moderator  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  that  year,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Radcliffe  took 
charge  of  the  services,  and  paid  tributes  to  the 
worth  and  services  of  him  whom  God  had  taken. 
On  Wednesday  morning  the  remains  were  taken 
to  Woodlawn  and  laid  to  rest  beside  the  beloved 
nephew,  the  Rev.  John  Magowan,  and  near  his 
stepson  Major  John  Irwin.  The  final  arrange- 
ments of  the  monument  have  not  yet  been  made, 
and  only  a  simple  head-stone  with  a  reference  to 
Daniel  12:3,  marks  the  place  where  lies  the  sacred 
dust. 

Great  was  the  outburst  of  real  sorrow  when 
the  news  spread  that  the  great  preacher  and 
faithful  pastor  was  to  be  seen  and  heard  no 
more  on  earth.  In  London,  Edinburgh,  Dublin, 
Belfast,  Glasgow,  as  well  as  all  the  principal 
cities  of  the  United  States,  memorial  sermons 
were  preached,  and  memorial  services  were  held. 


THE  LAST  RITES  341 

Great  numbers  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  on  both 
sides  of  the  water,  Methodists,  Baptists,  Congre- 
gational, Episcopalian  and  others,  joined  in  trib- 
utes of  esteem  and  sorrow.  Nearly  all  the  Eng- 
lish written  press  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
and  many  foreign  journals  contained  estimates 
of  the  power  and  value  of  the  life  that  had  passed 
away.  The  London  Times  paid  a  warm  tribute 
to  the  influence  of  the  life  that  was  closed;  and 
what  marked  nearly  all  these  estimates  was  the 
prominence  given  to  the  directness  and  simplic- 
ity of  the  life  and  work.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
elements  that  went  to  make  up  my  father's  char- 
acter were  not  unduly  complex,  yet  poise,  in- 
dustry, strength  of  conviction  and  masterly  con- 
trol of  all  those  elements  gave  extraordinary 
force  to  the  life. 

The  widow,  three  sons,  a  stepson  and  one 
daughter  survive  the  father;  and  were  all  so  far 
as  health  permitted  present  at  the  last  sad  offices. 
For  him  to  die  was  gain.  A  life  singularly  un- 
selfish and  remarkably  unspoilt  by  unbroken  suc- 
cess went  down  at  last  amid  the  cloud-storms  of 
opposition  and  betrayal;  but  God  gave  sweet 
peace,  and  gently  took  a  faithful  servant  home  to 
join  in  the  chorus  of  redemption  in  the  presence 
forever  of  his  Saviour  Kins:. 


DATE  DUE 


